The commanding officer sent a guide to conduct our party around the village and to put us upon our road again.

This was the last interruption: that night we rested at a large coffee plantation, some eight miles from the cave we were on the way to visit.
It must have been a Saturday night; the peons had been paid off, and spent part of the night in gambling away their scanty week's earnings.
Their coin was principally copper, and I do not believe there was a man among them who had received as much as twenty-five cents in money.

They were as much excited, however, as if they had been staking thousands.

I recollect one poor fellow, who had lost his last tlacko, pulled off his shirt and, in the most excited manner, put that up on the turn of a card.

Monte was the game played, the place out of doors, near the window of the room occupied by the officers of our party.
The next morning we were at the mouth of the cave at an early hour, provided with guides, candles and rockets.