At night they felt like going back to
Madrid, but Vidal suggested that they had better remain where they
were, so that they could commit the robbery at dawn of the next day.
This was decided upon and they lay down in a tile-kiln, in the
passageway formed by two walls of heaped-up bricks.
A cold wind blew violently throughout the night. Manuel was the first
to awake and he roused the other two. They left the passageway formed
by the walls of bricks. It was still night; from time to time a
segment of the moon peered through the dark clouds; now it hid, now it
seemed to rest upon the bosom of one of those dense clouds which it
silvered so delicately.
In the distance, above Madrid a bright glow began to appear,
irradiated by the lights of the city; a few tombstones in the cemetery
cast a pallid shimmer.
Dawn was already tinting the heavens with its melancholy flush when
the three robbers approached the house.
Manuel's heart was pounding with agitation.
"Ah, by the way," said Vidal. "If by any accident we should be
surprised, we mustn't run; we've got to stick right in the house."
El Bizco burst into laughter; Manuel, who knew that his cousin wasn't
talking just for the sake of hearing his voice, asked:
"Why?"
"Because if they catch us in the house it's only a balked attempt at
robbery, and the punishment isn't severe; on the other hand, if they
catch us in flight, that would be a successful robbery and the penalty
would be great.
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