It was now almost dark.

Soon we saw the downward slope, at the foot of which Huauhtla lay.

We hastened down the slope, passing through a grove of oak trees, heavily loaded with bromelias; at the foot of the slope, we crossed a stream of clearest water, bordered with handsome cypress trees, and passing several houses, came to the one where we planned to stop for the night.

It was now dark.
There was no opportunity for sleeping in the hut, and so we prepared to lie down outside.

The people in the house prepared _tortillas_ and beans, and, after eating, we rolled up in our blankets and lay down on some dried corn-husks on the ground.