night, about nine o'clock
Thus , little by little , and by dint of frequent reiteration , accompanied by much laughter and many blushes on the part of their fair instructresses , the two young Englishmen learned that they owed their lives to the compassion of the Senoritas Clara and Dolores ; who , watching the fight from their window , had been so greatly impressed by the gallant bearings of Dick and Phil , that when the two were seen to go down in the melee , the girls , moved by a common impulse , had dashed out of the house , the moment that a favourable opportunity had presented itself , and had dragged the apparently inanimate bodies indoors unnoticed in the prevailing confusion . And they also learned that , according to common report , some eight or ten survivors of the ill-advised landing-party had succeeded in fighting their way back to the ship , which had thereupon got under way and sailed out of the harbour , leaving the _ Santa Margaretta _ ablaze from stem to stern . Thus the time went on until Dick and Phil had been secreted in Cartagena nearly six weeks , by which time the former was so nearly approaching convalescence that the pair had begun to discuss seriously the question of their future . Then , one night , about nine o'clock , the two girls , who had been out taking the air upon the alameda , came rushing home in consternation with the news that somebody had somehow acquired an inkling of the fact that they were harbouring two Englishmen in their house , and that the soldiers might be expected to arrive at any moment to take the whole party prisoners ! But , as the girls breathlessly explained , if the Englishmen got away at once -- as they must for their own sakes -- no harm need be expected to befall their hostesses , as it would then appear that some enemy had been spreading a false and malicious report . The two young Englishmen hardly liked the idea of going off and leaving their kind entertainers to bear unaided the brunt of a strict and severe cross-examination ; but it was obviously the only thing to be done , for it would be far worse for the family if the hated _ Ingleses _ were actually found in the house , than if their recent presence there were only suspected ; they therefore agreed to go at once ; and , since they had no belongings to pack , were ready to depart upon the instant . But the girls , who were bitterly distressed at the idea of so sudden and unceremonious a leave-taking , would not let them leave the house alone , to take their chance of finding their way , unmolested , down to the harbour ; they insisted upon accompanying them and guiding them by the least-frequented ways ; and this they did , following a number of narrow , winding , deserted lanes and alleys which at length brought them out upon the wharf where they had landed on the ill-fated day when they had attempted the rescue of Captain Marshall .