Eight o'clock came, and no companions.

The supper hour was postponed to nine.

Between nine and ten, Don Pedro and I talked over various matters, and at last, yielding to his solicitation, I went to supper, he promising to send my comrades in case they should arrive during my absence.

I had just finished supper, at half-past ten, when my three hungry companions arrived, with big appetites for their own meals, and it was after eleven before the party was through its supper.
[Illustration] They, themselves, had by no means spent a dull afternoon.

The station agent and his lady wife had indulged in a vigorous battle.