midnight
But the telling of it , together with Juanita 's sympathy , did me good , and I went away in much better spirits than I had come . Salvador , she said , would be back in a few days , and she much regretted not being able to offer me quarters ; it was contrary to the custom of the place and Spanish etiquette for ladies to entertain gentlemen visitors during their husbands ' absence . After leaving Juanita I walked round by the guard-house in which I had been imprisoned , and through the ruins where Carmen and I had hidden when we were making our escape . They suggested some stirring memories -- Carera -LRB- who , as I learned from Juanita , had been dead several years -RRB- and his chivalrous friendship ; Salvador and his reckless courage ; our midnight ride ; Gahra and the bivouac by the mountain-tarn -LRB- poor Gahra , what had become of him ? -RRB- ; Majia and his guerillas ; Griscelli and his blood-hounds -LRB- how I hated that man , but surely by this time he had got his deserts -RRB- ; Gondocori and Queen Mamcuna ; the man-killer ; and Quipai . My mind was still busied with these memories when I reached the hotel . There seemed to be much more going on than there had been earlier in the day -- horsemen were coming and going , servants hurrying to and fro , people promenading on the _ patio _ , a group of uniformed officers deep in conversation .