 Part 1, Chapter 13 of 800 Leagues on the Amazon. This is LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Nicole Carl St. Louis, Missouri, October 2007. 800 Leagues on the Amazon by Jules Verne. Part 1, Chapter 13, Tourez. At five o'clock in the evening, Fregoso was still there, and was asking himself if he would have to pass the night on the spot to satisfy the expectant crowd when a stranger arrived in the square, and seeing all this native gathering advance toward the inn. For some minutes the stranger eyed Fregoso attentively with some circumspection. The examination was obviously satisfactory, for he entered the loha. He was a man about thirty-five years of age. He was dressed in a somewhat elegant traveling costume, which added much to his personal appearance. But his strong black beard, which the scissors had not touched for some time, and his hair, a trifle long, imperiously required the good offices of a barber. Good day, friend, good day, he said, lightly striking Fregoso on the shoulder. Fregoso turned round, when he heard the words pronounced in pure Brazilian and not in the mixed idiom of the natives. A compatriot, he asked, without stopping the twisting of the refractory mouth of a myoma head. Yes, answered the stranger, a compatriot who has need of your services. To be sure, in a minute, said Fregoso, wait till I have finished with this lady. And this was done in a couple of strokes with the curling tongs. Although he was the last-comer, and had no right to the vacant place, he sat down on the stool without causing any expostulation on the part of the natives who lost a turn. Fregoso put down the irons for the scissors, and, after the manner of his brethren, said, What can I do for you, sir? Cut my beard and my hair, answered the stranger, All right, said Fregoso, inserting his comb into the massive hair, and then the scissors to do their work. And you come from far, asked Fregoso, who could not work without a good deal to say. I have gone from the neighborhood of Viquitos. So have I, exclaimed Fregoso. I have come down the Amazon from Viquitos to Tabatinga. May I ask your name? No objection at all, replied the stranger. My name is Torres. When the hair was cut in the latest style, Fregoso began to thin his beard. But at this moment, as he was looking straight into his face, he stopped. Then began again, and then, Eh, Mr. Torres, he said, I seem to know you. We must have seen each other somewhere. I do not think so, quickly answered Torres. I am always wrong, replied Fregoso, and he hurried on to finish his task. A moment after, Torres continued the conversation which this question of Fregoso had interrupted with. How did you come from Viquitos? From Viquitos to Tabatinga? Yes. On board a raft on which I was given a passage by a worthy Frasinger who is going down the Amazon with his family. A friend indeed, replied Torres. That is a chance, and if your Frasinger would take me, do you intend then to go down the river? Precisely. Into Para? No, only to Manaos, what I have business. Well, my host is very kind. I think he would cheerfully oblige you. Do you think so? I might almost say I am sure. And what is the name of this Frasinger, as Torres caresly? John Guerrero answered Fregoso, and at the same time he muttered to himself, I certainly have seen this fellow somewhere. Torres was not the man to allow conversation to drop which was likely to interest him, and for very good reasons. And so you think John Guerrero would give me a passage? I do not doubt it, replied Fregoso. What he would do for a poor chap like me, he would not refuse to do for a compatriot like you. Is he alone on board the Yangara? No, replied Fregoso. I was going to tell you that he is travelling with his family and jolly people they are, I assure you. He is accompanied by a crew of Indians and Negroes who form part of the staff of the Fanzanda. Is he rich? Oh, certainly, answered Fregoso, very rich. Even the timber which forms the Yangara and the cargo carries constitute a fortune. The young Guerrero and his whole family have just passed the Brazilian frontier? Yes, said Fregoso, his wife, his son, his daughter, and Miss Minhas betrothed. Ah, he has a daughter, asked Torres. A charming girl. Going to get married? A face to a brave young fellow, replied Fregoso. An army surgeon and garrison at Bellum. And the wedding is to take place as soon as we get to the end of the voyage. Good, said the smiling Torres. It is what you might call a betrothal journey. A voyage of betrothal, of pleasure, and the business, said Fregoso. Madame Joquita and her daughter have never set foot on the Brazilian ground. As for young Guerrero, it is the first time he has crossed the frontier since he went to the farm of Old Maheles. I suppose, said Torres, that there are some servants with the family. Of course, replied Fregoso. Old Sibel on the farm for the last fifty years and the pretty Mulato Miss Lina, who is more of a companion than a servant to her mistress. Ah, what an amenable disposition. What a heart and what eyes. And the ideas she has about everything, particular about Lianas. Fregoso, started on this subject, would not have been able to stop himself, and Lina would have been the object of a good many enthusiastic declarations, had Torres not quitted the chair for another customer. What do I owe you? He asked of the barber. Nothing. It's a Fregoso. Between confederates, when they meet on the frontier, there can be no question of that sort. But, replied Torres, I want to. Very well, we will settle that later on, on board the Yangana. But I do not know that, and I do not like to ask young Gorell to allow me. Do not hesitate, exclaimed Fregoso. I will speak to him if you would like it better, and he will be very happy to be of use to you under the circumstances. And at that instant, Manuel and Benito, coming into the town after dinner, appeared at the door of the loja, wishing you see Fregoso at work. Torres turned to them and suddenly said. There are two gentlemen I know, or rather, I don't remember. You remember them? Asked Fregoso surprised. Yes, undoubtedly. A month ago, on the forest of Iquitos, they got me out of a considerable difficulty. But they are Benito Gorell and Manuel Veldes. I know, they told me their names, but I never expected to see them here. Torres advanced toward the two young men, who looked at him without recognizing him. Don't remember me, gentlemen, he asked. Wait a little, answered Benito. Mr. Torres, if I remember right. It was you who, in the forest of Iquitos, got into difficulties with a garibe. Quite true, gentlemen, replied Torres. For six weeks I have been traveling down the Amazon, and I have just crossed the frontier at the same time as you have. Very pleased to see you again, said Benito. Would you have not forgotten that you promised to Camdo Fezenda to my father? I have not forgotten it, answered Torres. And you would have done better to have accepted my offer. It would have allowed you to have waited for our departure, rested from your fatigues, and descended with us into the frontier. So many days have walking saved. To be sure, answered Torres. Our competitor is not going to stop at the frontier, said Fregoso. He's going on to my house. Well then, replied Benito. If you will come on board the Yangara, you will be well received, and I'm sure my father will give you a passage. Wavingly, said Torres. And you will allow me to thank you in advance. Manuel took no part in the conversation. He let Benito make the offer of his services, and attentively watched Torres, whose face he scarcely remembered. There was an entire want of frankness in the eyes, whose look changed unceasingly. As if he were afraid to fix them anywhere, but Manuel kept this impression to himself, not wishing to injure a compatriot whom they were about to oblige. Gentlemen, replied Torres, if you like, I am ready to follow you to the landing-place. Come, then, answered Benito. A quarter of an hour afterward, Torres was on board the Yangara. Benito introduced him to Yom Kurao, appointing him with the circumstances under which they had previously met him, and asked him to give him a passage down to Manaus. I am happy, sir, to be able to oblige you, replied Yom. Thank you, replied Torres, who, at the moment of putting forth his hand, kept it back in spite of himself. We shall be off at daybreak tomorrow, added Yom Kurao, so you had better get your things on board. Oh, that will not take me long, answered Torres. There is only myself and nothing else. Take yourself at home, said Yom Kurao. That evening Torres took possession of a cabin near to that of the barber. It was not till eight o'clock that the latter returned to the raft, and gave the young mulatto an account of his exploits, and repeated, with no little vanity, that the renown of the illustrious ragosso was increasing in the basin of the upper Amazon. CHAPTER XIV At daybreak on the morrow, the twenty-seventh of June, the cables were cast off, and the raft continued its journey down the river. An extra passenger was on board. Whence came, this Torres? No one exactly knew. Where was he going to? To Manaus, he said. Torres was careful to let no suspicion of his past life escape him, nor of the profession that he had followed till within the last two months, and no one would have thought that the young gata had given refuge to an old captain of the woods. Yom Kurao did not wish to mar the service he was rendering by questions of too pressing a nature. In taking him on board, the fazender had obeyed a sentiment of humanity. In the midst of these vast Amazonian deserts, more especially at the time when the steamers had not begun to furrow the waters, it was very difficult to find means of safe and rapid transit. Torres did not ply regularly, and in most cases the traveller was obliged to walk across the forests. This is what Torres had done, and what he would continue to have done, and it was for him unexpected good luck to have got passage on the raft. From the moment that Benito had explained under what conditions he had met Torres, the introduction was complete, and he was able to consider himself as a passenger on an Atlantic steamer, who was free to take part in the general life if he cares, or free to keep himself a little apart if of an unsociable disposition. It was noticed, at least during the first few days, that Torres did not try to become intimate with the Garau family. He maintained a good deal of reserve, answering if addressed, but never provoking a reply. If he appeared more open with anyone, it was with Fragoso. Did he not owe this gay companion the idea of taking passage on board the raft? Many times he asked him about the position of the Garau Zatequitos, the sentiments of the daughter of Formanuel Valdez, and always discreetly. Generally when he was not walking alone in the bow of the young gada, he kept to his cabin. He breakfasted and died with Yoam Garau and his family, but he took little part in their conversation, and retired when the repast was finished. During the morning the raft passed by the picturesque group of islands situated in the vast estuary of the Javari. This important affluent of the Amazon comes from the southwest, and from source to mouth has not a single island nor a single rapid to check its course. The mouth is about three thousand feet in width, and the river comes in some miles above the site formerly occupied by the town of the same name, whose possession was disputed for so long by Spaniards and Portuguese. Up to the morning of the thirtieth of June there had been nothing particular to distinguish the voyage. Occasionally they met a few vessels gliding along by the banks attached to one another in such a way that a single Indian could manage the whole Navigar de Bubina, as this kind of navigation is called by the people of the country, that is to say confidence navigation. They had passed the island of Araria, the archipelago of the Calderon Islands, the island of Capiatu, and many others whose names have not yet come to the knowledge of geographers. On the thirtieth of June the pilots signaled on the right the little village of Jurupari-Taperra, where they halted for two or three hours. Manuel and Benito had gone shooting in the neighborhood and brought back some feathered game, which was well received in the larder. At the same time they had got an animal of whom a naturalist would have made more than did the cook. It was a creature of a dark color, something like a large Newfoundland dog. A great anteater exclaimed Benito as he threw it on the deck of the young gada. And a magnificent specimen which would not disgrace the collection of a museum, added Manuel. Did you take much trouble to catch the curious animal? asked Minha. Yes, little sister, replied Benito, and you were not there to ask for mercy. These dogs die hard, and no less than three bullets were necessary to bring this fellow down. The anteater looked superb, with his long tail and grizzly hair, with his pointed snout which has plunged into the ant hills whose insects form its principal food, and his long, thin paws armed with sharp nails, five inches long, and which can shut up like the fingers of one's hand. But what a hand was this hand of the anteater! When it has got hold of anything, you have to cut it off to make it let go. It is of this hand that the traveller, Emile Carey, has so justly observed that Tiger himself would perish in its grasp. On the second of July, in the morning, the young gada arrived at the foot of San Pablo de la Venza. After having floated through the midst of numerous islands, which in all seasons are clad with verdure and shaded with magnificent trees, and the chief of which bear the names of Jurupari, Rita, Maracanatena, and Cururusapo. Many times they passed by the mouths of Iguarapes, or little affluence, with black waters. The coloration of these waters is a very curious phenomenon. It is peculiar to a certain number of these tributaries of the Amazon, which differ greatly in importance. Manuel remarked how thick the cloudiness was, or it could be clearly seen on the surface of the whitish waters of the river. They have tried to explain this coloring in many ways, said he, but I do not think the most learned have yet arrived at a satisfactory explanation. The waters are really black, with a magnificent reflection of gold, replied Minha, showing a light reddish-brown cloth which was floating level with the Yangada. Yes, said Manuel, and Humboldt has already observed the curious reflection that you have, but on looking at it attentively you will see that it is rather the color of sepia which pervades the whole. Good, exclaimed Bonito, another phenomenon on which the savants are not agreed. Perhaps, said Fragoso, they might ask the opinions of the caimans, dolphins, and manatees, for they certainly prefer the black waters to the others to enjoy themselves in. They are particularly attractive to those animals, replied Manuel, but why it is rather embarrassing to say? For instance, is the coloration due to the hydrocarbons which the waters hold in solution, or is it because they flow through districts of peat, coal, and anthracite, or should we not rather attribute it to the enormous quantity of minute plants which they bear along? There's nothing certain in the matter. Under any circumstances they are excellent to drink of a freshness quite enviable for the climate, and without aftertaste, and perfectly harmless. Take a little of the water, Minha, and drink it. You will find it all right. The water is in truth limpid and fresh, and would advantageously replace many of the table waters used in Europe. They drew several frasks for kitchen use. It has been said that in the morning of the second of July the young God had arrived at San Paolo d'Alevenza, where they turn out in thousands those long strings of beads which are made from the scales of the Coco di Piazava. This trade is here extensively followed. It may perhaps seem singular that the ancient lords of the country, Tupinambas and Tupinikis, should find their principal occupation in making objects for the Catholic religion. But after all, why not? These Indians are no longer the Indians of days gone by. Instead of being clothed in the national fashion with a frontlet of macaw feathers, bow, and blow tube, have they not adopted the American costume of white cotton trousers and a cotton poncho woven by their wives who have become thorough adepts in its manufacture? San Paolo d'Alevenza, a town of some importance, has not less than 2,000 inhabitants, derived from all the neighboring tribes. At present, the capital of the upper Amazon, it began as a simple mission, founded by the Portuguese Carmelites about 1692, and afterward acquired by the Jesuit missionaries. From the beginning it has been the country of the omaguas, whose name means flatheads, and is derived from the barbarous custom of the native mothers of squeezing the heads of their newborn children between two plates, so as to give them an oblong skull, which was then the fashion. Like everything else that has changed, heads have retaken their natural form, and there is not the slightest trace of the ancient deformity in the skulls of the Chaplet-makers. Everyone, with the exception of Yoam Garal, went ashore. Torres also remained on board and showed no desire to visit San Paolo d'Alevenza, which he did not, however, seem to be equated with. Assuredly, if the adventurer was taciturn, he was not inquisitive. Benito had no difficulty in doing a little bartering, and adding slightly to the cargo of the young gada. He and the family received an excellent reception from the principal authorities of the town, the commandant of the place, and the chief of the custom house, whose functions did not in the least prevent them from engaging in trade. They even entrusted the young merchant with a few products of the country for him to dispose of, on their account, at Manaus and Bel-Am. The town is composed of some sixty houses arranged on the plain which hereabouts crowns the riverbank. Some of the huts are covered with tiles, a very rare thing in these countries. But, on the other hand, the humble church, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, has only a roof of straw, rather more appropriate for a stable of Bethlehem than for an edifice consecrated to religion in one of the most Catholic countries in the world. The commandant, his lieutenant, and the head of the police accepted an invitation to dine with the family, and they were received by Yoam Garal with the respect due to their rank. During dinner, Torres showed himself more talkative than usual. He spoke about some of his excursions into the interior of Brazil, like a man who knew the country. But in speaking of these travels, Torres did not neglect to ask the commandant if he knew Manaus, if his colleague would be there at this time, and if the judge, the first magistrate of the province, was accustomed to absent himself at this period of the hot season. It seemed that in putting this series of questions, Torres looked at Yoam Garal. It was marked enough for even Benito to notice it, not without surprise, and he observed that his father gave particular attention to the questions so curiously propounded by Torres. The commandant of San Pablo de la Venza assured the adventurer that the authorities were not now absent from Manaus, and he even asked Yoam Garal to convey to them his compliments. In all probability, the raft would arrive before the town in seven weeks, or a little later, say about the 20th or 25th of August. The guests of the fazender took leave of the Garal family toward the evening, and the following morning, that of the 3rd of July, the Yoam Garal recommenced its descent of the river. At noon they passed on the left of the mouth of the Yacurupa. This tributary, properly speaking, is a true canal, for it discharges its waters into the Issa, which is itself an affluent of the Amazon. A peculiar phenomenon, for the river, displaces itself to feed its own tributaries. Toward three o'clock in the afternoon, the giant raft passed the mouth of the Yandiatuba, which brings its magnificent black waters from the southwest, and discharges them into the main artery by a mouth of 400 meters in extent, after having watered the territories of the Cullino Indians. A number of islands were breasted, Pemaquera, Caturia, Chico, Motachina, some inhabited, others deserted, but all covered with superb vegetation, which forms an unbroken garland of green from one end of the Amazon to the other. Part 1 Chapter 15 of 800 Leagues on the Amazon This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Joseph Burby. 800 Leagues on the Amazon by Jules Verne. Part 1 Chapter 15 The Continued Descent On the evening of the 5th of July, the atmosphere had been oppressive since the morning, and threatened approaching storms. Large bats of ruddy color skimmed with their huge wings the current of the Amazon. Among them could be distinguished the Peros Voladors, somber brown above and light-colored beneath for which Minha and particularly the young mulatto felt an instinctive aversion. These were, in fact, the horrible vampires which sucked the blood of the cattle, and even attacked man if he is imprudent enough to sleep out in the fields. Oh, the dreadful creatures cried, Lina, hiding her eyes. They filled me with horror! And they are really formidable, added Minha. Are they not, Manuel? To be sure, very formidable, answered he. These vampires have a particular instinct which leads them to bleed you in the places where the blood most easily comes, and principally behind the ear. During the operation they continue to move their wings and cause an agreeable freshness which renders the sleep of the sleeper more profound. They tell of people unconsciously submitted to this hemorrhage for many hours who have never awoke. Talk no more of things like that, Manuel, said Yaquita, or neither Minha or Lina will dare to sleep tonight. Never fear, replied Manuel, if necessary we will watch over them as they sleep. Silence! said Benito. What is the matter? asked Manuel. Do you not hear the very curious noise on that side? continued Benito, pointing to the right bank. Certainly, answered Yaquita. What causes the noise? asked Minha. One would think it was Shingle rolling on the beach of the islands. Good! I know what it is! answered Benito. Tomorrow, at daybreak, there will be a rare treat for those who like fresh turtle eggs and little turtles. He was not deceived, the noise was produced by innumerable chelonians of all sizes who were attracted to the island to lay their eggs. It is in the sand of the beach that these amphibians choose the most convenient places to deposit their eggs. The operation commences with sunset and finishes with the dawn. At this moment the chief turtle had left the bed of the river to reconnoiter for a favorable spot. The others, collected in thousands, were soon occupied in digging with their hind paddles a trench six hundred feet long, a dozen wide and six deep. After laying their eggs they cover them with a bed of sand, which they beat down with their carapaces as if they were rammers. This egg-laying operation is a grand affair for the riverine Indians of the Amazon at its tributaries. They watch for the arrival of the chelonians and proceed to the extraction of the eggs to the sound of the drum, and the harvest is divided into three parts. One to the watchers, another to the Indians, a third to the state, represented by the captains of the shore who, in their capacity of police, have to superintend the collection of the dews. To certain beaches which the decrease of the waters is left uncovered, and which have the privilege of attracting a greater number of turtles, there has been given the name of Royal Beaches. When the harvest is gathered it is a holiday for the Indians, who give themselves up to games, dancing, and drinking. It is also a holiday for the alligators of the river who hold high revelry on the remains of the amphibians. Turtles or turtle eggs are an object of very considerable trade throughout the Amazonian basin. It is these chelonians whom they turn, that is to say, put on their backs when they come from laying their eggs, and whom they preserve alive, keeping them in palisaded pools like fish pools, or attaching them to a stake by a cord just long enough to allow them to go and come on the land, or they're under the water. In this way they always have the meat of these animals fresh. They proceed differently with the little turtles which are just hatched. There's no need to pack them or tie them up, their shell is still soft, their flesh extremely tender, and after they have cooked them they eat them just like oysters. In this form large quantities are consumed. However, this is not the most general use to which the chelonian eggs are put in the provinces of the Amazons and Para. The manufacturer of Mantegna di Tartaruga, or Turtle Butter, which will bear comparison to the best products of Normandy or Brittany, does not take less every year than from 250 to 300 millions of eggs. But the turtles are innumerable all along the river, and they deposit their eggs on the sands of the beach in incalculable quantities. However, on account of the destruction caused not only by the natives, but by the waterfowl, from the side, the urubus in the air, and the alligators in the river, their number has been so diminished that for every little turtle a Brazilian patak, or about a franc, has to be paid. On the morrow at daybreak Benito Fragozzo and a few Indians took a pierogue and landed on the beach of one of the large islands which they had passed during the night. It was not necessary for the young gata to halt. They knew they could catch her up. On the shore they saw the little hillocks which indicated the places where, that very night, each packet of eggs had been deposited in the trench in groups of from 160 to 190. These there was no wish to get out, but an earlier laying had taken place two months before. The eggs had hatched under the action of the heat stored in the sand, and already several thousands of little turtles were running about the beach. The hunters were therefore in luck. The pierogue was filled with these interesting amphibians, and they arrived just in time for breakfast. The booty was divided between the passengers and crew of the young gata, and if any lasted till the evening it did not last any longer. In the morning of the 7th of July they were before San José de Matura, a town situated near a small river filled up with long grass, and on the borders of which a legend says that Indians with tails once existed. In the morning of the 8th of July they caught sight of the village of San Antonio, two or three little houses lost in the trees at the mouth of the Issa, or Putumayo, which is about 900 meters wide. The Putumayo is one of the most important affluence of the Amazon. Here in the 16th century missions were founded by the Spaniards, which were afterwards destroyed by the Portuguese, and not a trace of them now remains. Representatives of different tribes of Indians are found in the neighborhood, which are easily recognizable by the differences in their tattoo marks. The Issa is a body of water coming from the east of the pasto mountains to the northeast of Quito, through the finest forests of wild cacao trees. Navigable for a distance of 140 leagues for steamers of not greater draft than six feet, it may one day become one of the chief waterways in the west of America. The bad weather was at last met with. It did not show itself in continual rains but in frequent storms. These could not hinder the progress of the raft, which offered little resistance to the wind. Its great length rendered it almost insensible to the swell of the Amazon, but during the torrential showers, the Garal family had to keep indoors. They had to occupy profitably these hours of leisure. They chatted together, communicated their observations, and their tongues were seldom idle. It was under these circumstances that little by little Torres had begun to take a more active part in the conversation. The details of his many voyages throughout the whole north of Brazil afforded him numerous subjects to talk about. The man had certainly seen a great deal, but his observations were those of a skeptic, and he often shocked the straightforward people who were listening to him. It should be said that he showed himself much impressed toward Minha, but these attentions, although they were displeasing to Manuel, were not sufficiently marked for him to interfere. On the other hand, Minha felt for him an instinctive repulsion, which he was at no pains to conceal. On the fifth of July, the mouth of the Tunantines appeared on the left bank, forming an estuary of some four hundred feet across, in which it pours its blackish waters, coming from the west-northwest after having watered the territories of the Cassina Indians. At this spot the Amazon appears under a truly grandiose aspect, but its course is more than ever encumbered with islands and islets. It required all the address of the pilot to steer through the archipelago, going from one bank to another, avoiding the shallows, shirking the eddies, and maintaining the advance. They might have taken the Ahuati Parana, a sort of natural canal which goes off a little below the mouth of the Tunantines, and re-enters the principal stream a hundred and twenty miles further on by the Rio Hapura. But if the larger portion of this measures a hundred and fifty feet across, the narrowest is only sixty feet, and the raft would there have met with the difficulty. On the thirteenth of July, after having touched at the island of Capuro, past the mouth of the Hutahi, which coming from the east-southeast brings in its black waters by a mouth five hundred feet wide, and admired the legions of monkeys, sulphur white in color, with cinnabar red faces who are insatiable lovers of the nuts produced by the palm trees from which the river derives its name, the travellers arrived on the eighteenth of July before the little village of Fante Boa. At this place the Yangara halted for twelve hours so as to give a rest to the crew. Fante Boa, like most of the mission villages in the Amazon, has not escaped the capricious fate which, during a lengthened period, moves them about from one place to another. Probably the hamlet has now finished with its nomadic existence, and has definitely become stationary. So much the better, for it is a charming place, with its thirty houses covered with foliage, and its church dedicated to Notre-Dame de Guadalupe, the black virgin of Mexico. Fante Boa has one thousand inhabitants, drawn from the Indians on both banks, who rear numerous cattle in the fields in the neighborhood. These occupations do not end here, for they are intrepid hunters, or if they prefer it, intrepid fishers for the manatee. On the morning of their arrival the young fellows assisted at a very interesting expedition of this nature. Two of these herbivorous cetaceans had just been signaled in the black waters of the Kayaratu, which comes in at Fante Boa. Six brown points were seen moving along the surface, and these were the two-pointed snouts and four pinions of the Lamontines. Inexperienced fishermen would at first have taken these moving points for floating wreckage, but the natives of Fante Boa were not to be so deceived. Besides, very soon loud blowings indicated that the spouting animals were vigorously ejecting the air which had become useless for their breathing purposes. Two Ubas, each carrying three fishermen, set off from the bank and approached the manatees, who soon took flight. The black points at first traced along furrow on top of the water and then disappeared for a time. The fishermen continued their cautious advance. One of them, armed with a very primitive harpoon, a long nail at the end of a stick, kept himself in the bow of the boat, while the other two noiselessly paddled on. They waited till the necessity of breathing would bring the manatees up again. In ten minutes or thereabouts the animals would certainly appear in a circle more or less confined. In fact, this time it scarcely elapsed before the black points emerged at a little distance, and two jets of air mingled with vapor were noiselessly shot forth. The Ubas approached. The harpoons were thrown at the same instant. One missed its mark, but the other struck one of the cetaceans near his tail. It was only necessary to stun the animal, who rarely defends himself when touched by the iron of the harpoon. In a few pulls the cord brought him alongside the Uba, and he was towed to the beach at the foot of the village. It was not a manatee of any size, for it only measured about three feet long. These poor cetaceans had been so hunted that they have become very rare on the Amazon and its affluence, and so little time has left them to grow that the giants of the species do not now exceed seven feet. What are these, after manatees twelve and fifteen feet long, which still abound in the rivers and lakes of Africa? But it would be difficult to hinder their destruction. The flesh of the manatee is excellent, superior even to that of pork, and the oil furnished by its lard, which is three inches thick, is a product of great value. When the meat is smoked dry, it keeps for a long time, and is capital food. If to this is added that the animal is easily caught, it is not to be wondered at that the species is on its way to complete destruction. On the nineteenth of July, at sunrise, the Angada left Fonte Boa, and entered between the two completely deserted banks of the river, and breasted some islands shaded with the grand forests of cacao trees. The sky was heavily charged with electric cumuli, warning them of renewed storms. The Rio Hurrura, coming from the southwest, soon joins the river on the left. A vessel can go up and into Peru without encountering insurmountable obstacles among its white waters, which are fed by a great number of petty affluence. It is perhaps in these parts, said Manuel, that we ought to look for those female warriors who so much astonished Orelana. But we ought to say that, like their predecessors, they do not form separate tribes. They are simply the wives who accompany their husbands to the fight, and who, among the Hurruas, have a great reputation for bravery. The Angada continued to descend, but what a labyrinth the Amazon now appeared. The Rio Hurrura, whose mouth was 48 miles on ahead, and which is one of its largest tributaries, runs almost parallel with the river. Between them were canals, ihuarapes, lagoons, temporary lakes, and an extricable network which renders the hydrography of this country so difficult. But if Araujo had no map to guide him, his experience served him more surely, and it was wonderful to see him unraveling the chaos, without ever turning aside from the main river. In fact, he did so well that on the 25th of July, in the afternoon, after having passed before the village of Paranitapera, the raft was anchored at the entrance of the Lake of Igo, or Tefe, which it was useless to enter, for they would not have been able to get out of it again into the Amazon. But the town of Iga is of some importance. It was worthy of a halt to visit it. It was arranged, therefore, that the Yangaric should remain on this spot till the 27th of July, and that on the morrow the large Pyrog should take the whole family to Iga. This would give a rest which was deservedly due to the hardworking crew of the raft. The night passed at the moorings near a slightly rising shore, and nothing disturbed the quiet. A little sheet lightning was observable on the horizon, but it came from a distant storm which did not reach the entrance to the lake. CHAPTER 16 IGA At six o'clock in the morning of July the twentieth, Yaquita, Minha, Lina, and the two young men prepared to leave the Yangara. Yoam Goral, who had shown no intention of putting his foot on shore, had decided this time at the request of the ladies of his family to leave his absorbing daily work and accompany them on their excursion. Torres had evinced no desire to visit Iga, to the great satisfaction of Manuel, who had taken a great dislike to the man and only waited for an opportunity to declare it. As to Fregoso he could not have the same reason for going to Iga as had taken him to Tabatinga, which is a place of little importance compared to this. Iga is a chief town with fifteen hundred inhabitants, and in it reside all those authorities which compose the administration of a considerable city, considerable for the country, that is to say, the military commandant, the chief of police, the judges, the schoolmaster, and troops under the command of officers of all ranks. With so many functionaries living in a town, with their wives and children, it is easy to see that hairdressers would be in demand. Such was the case, and Fregoso would not have paid his expenses. Doubtless, however, the jolly fellow who could do no business in Iga had thought to be of the party if Lina went with her mistress, but, just as they were leaving the raft, he resolved to remain at the request of Lina herself. If Fregoso, she said to him after taking him aside, Miss Lina, answered Fregoso, I do not think that your friend Torres intends to go with us to Iga. Certainly not. He is going to stay on board, Miss Lina, but you would oblige me by not calling him my friend. But you undertook to ask a passage for him before he had shown any intention of doing so. Yes, and on that occasion, if you would like to know what I think, I made a fool of myself. Like so, and if you would like to know what I think, I do not like the man at all, Mr. Fregoso. Neither do I, Miss Lina, and I have all the time an idea that I have seen him somewhere before. But the remembrance is too vague. The impression, however, is far from being a pleasant one. Where and when could you have met him? Can't you call it to mind? It might be useful to know who he is and what he has been. No, I try all I can. How long was it to go? In what country? Under what circumstances? And I cannot hit upon it. Mr. Fregoso, Miss Lina, stay on board and keep watch on Torres during our absence. What? Not go with you to Iga and remain a whole day without seeing you? I ask you to do so. Is it an order? It is an entreaty. I will remain, Mr. Fregoso, Miss Lina. I thank you. Thank me, then, with a good shake of the hand, replied Fregoso. That is worth something. Lina held out her hand, and Fregoso kept it for a few moments while he looked into her face. And that is the reason why he did not take his place in the parogue and became, without appearing to be, the guard upon Torres. Did the latter notice the feelings of a version with which he was regarded? Perhaps, but doubtless he had his reasons for taking no account of them. A distance of four leagues separated the mooring place from the town of Iga. Eight leagues there and back, in a parogue containing six persons, besides two negroes as rowers, would take some hours, not to mention the fatigue caused by the high temperature, though the sky was veiled with clouds. Fortunately a lovely breeze blew from the northwest, and if it held, would be favorable for crossing Lake Tefe. They could go to Iga and return rapidly without having to tack. So the Latin sale was hoisted on the mass of the parogue. Benito took the tiller, and off they went, after a last gesture from Lina to Fregoso to keep his eyes open. The southern shore of the lake had to be followed to get to Iga. After two hours the parogue arrived at the port of this ancient mission founded by the Carmelites, which became a town in 1759 and which General Gama placed forever under Brazilian rule. The passengers landed on a flat beach, on which were to be found not only boats from the interior, but a few of those little schooners which are used in the coasting trade on the Atlantic seaboard. When the two girls entered Iga, they were at first much astonished. What a large town, said Mina. What houses, what people, replied Lina, whose eyes seemed to have expanded so that she might see better. Rather, said Benito, laughingly, more than fifteen hundred inhabitants, two hundred houses at the very least, some of them with a first floor and two or three streets, genuine streets. My dear Manuel, said Mina, do protect us against my brother. He is making fun of us, and only because he has already been in the finest towns in Amazons and Parra. Quite so. Many is also poking fun at his mother, added Jaquita, for I confess I never saw anything equal to this. Then, mother and sister, you must take great care that you do not fall into a trance when you get to Manaus and vanish altogether when you reach Bel-Am. Never fear, answered Manuel, the ladies will have been gently prepared for these grand wonders by visiting the principal cities of the upper Amazon. Now Manuel, said Mina, you are talking just like my brother. Are you making fun of us, too? No, Mina, I assure you. Laugh on, gentlemen, said Lina, and let us look around, my dear mistress, for it is very fine. Very fine! A collection of houses, built of mud, whitewashed and principally covered with thash or palm leaves, a few built of stone or wood with verandas, doors, and shutters painted a bright green, standing in the middle of a small orchard of orange trees in flower. But there were two or three public buildings, a barrack and a church dedicated to St. Teresa, which was a cathedral by the side of the modest chapel at Hikitos. On looking toward the lake, a beautiful panorama unfolded itself, bordered by a frame of coconut trees and aseus, which ended at the edge of the liquid level, and showed beyond the picturesque village of Noquiera, with its few small houses lost in the mass of the old olive trees on the beach. But for the two girls there was another cause of wonderment, quite feminine wonderment, too, in the fashions of the fair eagans, not the primitive costume of the natives, converted omas or muas, but the dress of true Brazilian ladies, the wives and daughters of the principal functionaries and merchants of the town, pretentiously showed off their Parisian toilettes. A little out of date, perhaps, for eagai's five hundred leagues away from Para, and this is itself many thousands of miles from Paris. Just look at those fine ladies in their fine clothes, Lena will go mad, exclaimed Benito. If those dresses were worn properly, said Minha, they might not be so ridiculous. My dear Minha, said Manuel, with your simple gown and straw hat, you are better dressed than any one of these Brazilians with their headgear and flying petticoats, which are foreign to their country and their race. If it pleases you to think so, answered Minha, I do not envy any of them. But they had come to see. They walked through the streets which contained more stalls than shops. They strolled about the market place, the rendezvous of the fashionable who were nearly stifled in their European clothes. They even breakfasted at an hotel. It was scarcely an inn, whose cookery caused them to deeply regret the excellent service on the raft. After dinner, at which only turtle flesh served up in different forms appeared, the Garral family went for the last time to admire the borders of the lake, as the setting sun gilded it with its rays. Then they rejoined their pierogues, somewhat disillusioned perhaps as to the magnificence of a town which one hour would give them time enough to visit, and a little tired with walking about its stifling streets, which were not nearly so pleasant as the shady pathways of Iquitos. The inquisitive Lina's enthusiasm alone had not been damped. They all took their places in the pierogue. The wind remained in the northwest and had freshened with the evening. The sail was hoisted. They took the same course as in the morning, across the lake, fed by the black waters of the Rio Tefe, which, according to the Indians, is navigable toward the southwest for forty days' journey. At eight o'clock the pierogue regained the mooring place and hailed the young gara. As soon as Lina could get Fraigoso aside, Have you seen anything suspicious? she inquired. Nothing, Miss Lina, he replied, Torres has scarcely left his cabin where he has been reading and writing. He did not get into the house or in the dining-room as I feared. No, all the time he was not in his cabin, he was in the bow of the raft. And what was he doing? Holding an old piece of paper in his hand, consulting it with great attention, and muttering a lot of incomprehensible words. All that is not so unimportant as you think, Mr. Fraigoso. These readings and writings and old papers have their interest. He is neither a professor nor a lawyer, this reader and writer. You are right. Still watch him, Mr. Fraigoso. I will watch him, as always, Miss Lina, replied Fraigoso. On the morrow, the twenty-seventh of July, at daybreak, Benito gave the pilot the signal to start. Away between the islands in the bay of Aranapo, the mouth of the Yapura, six thousand six hundred feet wide, was seen for an instant, this large tributary comes into the Amazon through eight mouths, as if it were pouring into some gulf or ocean. But its waters come from afar, and it is the mountains of the Republic of Ecuador which start them on a course that there are no falls to break until two hundred and ten leagues from its junction with the mainstream. All this day was spent in descending to the island of Yapura, after which the river, less interfered with, makes navigation much easier. The current is not so rapid, and the islets are easily avoided, so that there were no touchings or groundings. The next day the young guard accosted along by vast beaches formed by undulating high domes, which served as the barriers of immense pasture grounds in which the whole of the cattle in Europe could be raised and fed. These sand banks are considered to be the richest turtle grounds in the basin of the upper Amazon. On the evening of the twenty-ninth of July they were securely moored off the island of Catua, so as to pass the night, which promised to be dark. On this island, as soon as the sun rose above the horizon, there appeared to be a party of Muras Indians, the remains of that ancient and powerful tribe which formerly occupied more than a hundred leagues of the river bank between the Tefe and the Madeira. These Indians went and came, watching the raft which remained stationary. There were about a hundred of them armed with blow-tubes formed of a reed peculiar to these parts, and which is strengthened outside by the stem of a dwarf palm from which the pith has been extracted. Yoam Garal quitted for an instant the work which took up all his time to warn his people to keep a good guard and not to provoke these Indians. In truth the sides were not well matched. The Muras were remarkably clever at sending through their blow-tubes arrows which cause incurable wounds even at a range of three hundred paces. These arrows, made of the leaf of the kukurait palm, are feathered with cotton, and nine or ten inches long with a point like a needle and poisoned with curare. Curare, or wora, the liquor which kills in a whisper, as the Indians say, is prepared from the sap of one of the yufo oribese and the juice of a bulbous strichnose, not to mention the paste of venomous ants and poisonous serpent fangs which they mix with it. It is indeed a terrible poison, said Manuel. It attacks at once those nerves by which the movements are subordinated to the will, but the heart is not touched, and it does not cease to beat until the extinction of the vital functions, and besides no antidote is known to the poison which commences by numbness of the limbs. Very fortunately these muras made no hostile demonstrations, although they entertain a profound hatred toward the whites. They have, in truth, no longer the courage of their ancestors. At nightfall a five-hold flute was heard behind the trees in the island, playing several airs in a minor key. Another flute answered, this interchange of musical phrases lasted for two or three minutes, and the muras disappeared. Fragoso in an exuberant moment had tried to reply by a song in his own fashion, but Lena had clapped her hand on his mouth and prevented his showing off his insignificant singing talents which he was so willingly lavish of. On the second of August, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the raft arrived twenty leagues away from there, at Lake Apauora, which is fed by the black waters of the river of the same name, and two days afterwards, about five o'clock, it stopped at the entrance into Lake Kori. This lake is one of the largest which communicates with the Amazon, and it serves as a reservoir for different rivers. Five or six affluence run into it, and there are stored and mixed up and emerged by a narrow channel into the mainstream. After catching a glimpse of the hamlet of Tahuamiri mounted on its piles as on stilts, as a protection against inundation from the floods which often sweep up over these low sandbanks, the raft was moored for the night. The stoppage was made in sight of the village of Kori, a dozen houses considerably dilapidated, built in the midst of a thick mass of orange and calabash trees. Nothing can be more changeable than the aspect of this village, where according to the rise or fall of the water, the lake stretches away on all sides of it, or is reduced to a narrow canal scarcely deep enough to communicate with the Amazon. On the following morning, that of the fifth of August, they started at dawn passing the canal of Yukura, belonging to the tangled system of lakes and furos of the Rio Zapura, and on the morning of the sixth of August they reached the entrance to Lake Miana. No fresh incident occurred in the life on board, which proceeded with almost methodical regularity. Fragoso, urged on by Lina, did not cease to watch Torres. Many times he tried to get him to talk about his past life, but the adventurer eluded all conversation on the subject and ended by maintaining a strict reserve toward the barber. His intercourse with the Garau family remained the same. If he spoke little to Yoam, he addressed himself more willingly to Yaquita and her daughter, and appeared not to notice the evident coolness with which he was received. They all agreed that when the raft arrived at Manaus Torres should leave it, and that they would never speak of him again. Yaquita followed the advice of Padre Pasana, who counseled patience, but the good priest had not such an easy task in Manuel, who was quite disposed to put on shore the intruder who had been so unfortunately taken on to the raft. The only thing that happened on this evening was the following. A pierogue, going down the river, came alongside the Yangada, after being hailed by Yoam Garau. Are you going to Manaus? He asked of the Indian who commanded and was steering her. Yes, he replied. When will you get there? In eight days. Then you will arrive before we shall. Will you deliver a letter for me? With pleasure. Take this letter, then, my friend, and deliver it at Manaus. The Indian took the letter which Yoam gave him, and a handful of Reese was the price of the commission he had undertaken. No members of the family, then gone into the house, knew anything of this. Torres was the only witness. He heard a few words exchanged between Yoam and the Indian, and from the cloud which passed over his face it was easy to see that the sending of this letter considerably surprised him. CHAPTER XVII and ATTACK. However, if Manuel, to avoid giving rise to a violent scene on board, said nothing on the subject of Torres, he resolved to have an explanation with Benito. Benito, he began after taking him to the bow of the Yangada, I have something to say to you. Benito, generally so good-humored, stopped as he looked at Manuel, and a cloud came over his countenance. I know why, he said. It is about Torres. Yes, Benito. And I also wish to speak to you. You have then noticed his attention to Minha, said Manuel, turning pale. Ah, it is not a feeling of jealousy, though, that exasperates you against such a man, said Benito quickly. No, replied Manuel. Decidedly not. Heaven forbid I should do such an injury to the girl who is to become my wife. No, Benito. She holds the adventurer in horror. I'm not thinking anything of that sort. But it distresses me to see this adventurer constantly obtruding himself by his presence and conversation on your mother and sister, and seeking to introduce himself into that intimacy with your family, which is already mine. Manuel gravely answered Benito, I share your aversion for this dubious individual, and had I consulted my feelings, I would already have driven Torres off the raft. But I dare not. You dare not, said Manuel, seizing the hand of his friend. You dare not? Listen to me, Manuel, continued Benito. You have observed Torres well, have you not? You have remarked his attentions to my sister. Nothing can be truer. But while you have been noticing that, have you not seen that this annoying man never keeps his eyes off my father, no matter if he is near to him or far from him, and that he seems to have some spiteful secret intention in watching him with such unaccountable persistency? What are you talking about, Benito? Have you any reason to think that Torres bears some grudge against your Amgaral? No, I think nothing, replied Benito. It is only a pre-sentiment. But look well at Torres, study his face with care, and you will see what an evil grin he has whenever my father comes into his sight. Well, then, exclaimed Manuel, if it is so, Benito, the more reason for clearing him out. More reason, or less reason, replied Benito. Manuel, I fear. What? I know not, but to force my father to get rid of Torres would perhaps be imprudent. I repeat it. I am afraid, though no positive fact enables me to explain my fear to myself. And Benito seemed to shudder with anger as he said these words. Then, said Manuel, you think we had better wait? Yes, wait before doing anything, but above all things let us be on our guard. After all, answered Manuel, in twenty days we shall be at Manaus. There Torres must stop. There he will leave us, and we shall be relieved of his presence for good. Till then we must keep our eyes on him. You understand me, Manuel, asked Benito. I understand you, my friend. My brother, replied Manuel, although I do not share and cannot share your fears, what connection can possibly exist between your father and this adventurer? Evidently, your father has never seen him. I do not say that my father knows Torres, said Benito, but assuredly it seems to me that Torres knows my father. What was the fellow doing in the neighborhood of the Fasenda when we met him in the forest of Iquitos? Why did he then refuse the hospitality which we offered, so as to afterward manage to force himself on us as our traveling companion? We arrive at Tabatinga, and there he is as if he was waiting for us. The probability is that these meetings were in pursuance of a preconceived plan. When I see the shifty, dogged look of Torres, all this crowds on my mind. I do not know. I'm losing myself in things that defy explanation. Oh, why did I ever think of offering to take him on board this raft? Be calm, Benito. I pray you. Manuel, continued Benito, who seemed to be powerless to contain himself, think you that if it only concerned me, this man who inspires us all with such a version and disgust, I should not hesitate to throw him overboard. But when it concerns my father, I fear less than giving way to my impressions, I may be injuring my object. Something tells me that with this scheming fellow there may be danger in doing anything until he has given us the right, the right and the duty to do it. In short, on the young God, he is in our power. And if we both keep good watch over my father, we can spoil his game, no matter how sure it may be, and force him to unmask and betray himself, then wait a little longer. The arrival of Torres in the bow of the raft broke off the conversation. Torres looked slyly at the two young men, but said not a word. Benito was not deceived when he said that the adventurer's eyes were never off your arm, Goral. As long as he fancied, he was unobserved. No, he was not deceived when he said that Torres' face grew evil when he looked at his father. By what mysterious bond could these two men, one nobleness itself, that was self-evident, be connected with each other? Such being the state of affairs, it was certainly difficult for Torres constantly watched as he was by the two young men, by Fragoso and Lina, to make a single movement without having instantly to repress it. Perhaps he understood the position. If he did, he did not show it, for his manner changed not in the least. Satisfied with their mutual explanation, Manuel and Benito promised to keep him in sight without doing anything to awaken his suspicions. During the following days, the young gada passed on the right the mouths of the rivers Camara, Arru, and Uripari, whose waters, instead of flowing into the Amazon, run off to the south to feed the Rio de Porus and return by it into the main river. At five o'clock on the evening of the 10th of August, they put into the island of Cocos. There they passed a serringal. This name is applied to a cauchuk plantation, the cauchuk being extracted from Serenquiera tree whose scientific name is Sinfonia elastica. It is said that by negligence or bad management, the number of these trees is decreasing in the basin of the Amazon, but the forests of Serenquiera trees are still very considerable on the banks of the Madeira, Porus, and other tributaries. There were here some twenty Indians collecting and working the cauchuk, an operation which principally takes place during the months of May, June, and July. After having ascertained that the trees, well prepared by the river floods which have bathed their stems to a height of about four feet, are in good condition for the harvest, the Indians are set to work, made into the alburnum of the Serenqueras. Below the wound small pots are attached, which twenty-four hours suffice to fill with a milky sap. It can also be collected by means of a hollow bamboo and a receptacle placed on the ground at the foot of the tree. The sap being obtained, the Indians, to prevent the separation of its peculiar resins fumigated over a fire of the nuts of the Assai palm. By spreading out the sap on a wooden scoop and shaking it in the smoke, its coagulation is almost immediately obtained. It assumes a grayish-yellow tinge and solidifies. The layers formed in succession are detached from the scoop, exposed to the sun, hardened, and assume the brownish color with which we are familiar. The manufacture is then complete. Benito, finding a capital opportunity, bought from the Indians all the cauchuk stored in their cabins, which by the way, are mostly built on piles. The price he gave them was sufficiently remunerative, and they were highly satisfied. Four days later, on the 14th of August, the Angada passed the mouths of the Purus. This is another of the large affluence of the Amazon and seems to possess a navigable course, even for large ships of over 500 leagues. It rises in the southwest and measures nearly 5,000 feet across at its junction with the main river, after winding beneath the shade of ficuses, tahwaris, nipah palms, and sacropias. It enters the Amazon by five mouths. Hereabouts, Araujo, the pilot, managed with great ease. The course of the river was but slightly obstructed with islands, and besides, from one bank to another, its width is about two leagues. The current, too, took along the Angada more steadily, and on the 18th of August, it stopped at the village of Pasquero to pass the night. The sun was already low on the horizon, and with the rapidity peculiar to these low latitudes, was about to set vertically like an enormous meteor. Yoam Garal and his wife, Lina, and old Sibel were in front of the house. Torres, after having an instant turn toward Yoam as if he would speak to him, and prevented perhaps by the arrival of Padre Pasanja, who had come to bid the family good night, had gone back to his cabin. The Indians and the Negroes were at their quarters along the sides. Araujo, seated at the bow, was watching the current which extended straight away in front of him. Manuel and Benito, with their eyes open but chatting and smoking with the parent in difference, walked about the central part of the craft, awaiting the hour of repose. All at once Manuel stopped Benito with his hand and said, what a queer smell, am I wrong? Do you not notice it? One would say that it was the odor of burning musk, replied Benito, there ought to be some alligators asleep on the neighboring beach. Well, nature is done wisely in allowing them so to betray themselves. Yes, said Benito, it is fortunate for they are sufficiently formidable creatures. Often at the close of the day these Saurians loved to stretch themselves on the shore and install themselves comfortably there to pass the night. Crouched at the opening of a hole into which they have crept back, they sleep with the mouth open, the upper jaw perpendicularly erect, so as to lie and wait for their prey. To these amphibians it is but sport to launch themselves in its pursuit, either by swimming through the waters propelled by their tails or running along the bank with a speed no man can equal. It is on these huge beaches that the caimans are born, live, and die. Not without affording extraordinary examples of longevity. Not only can the old ones, the sentinarians, be recognized by the greenish moss which carpets their carcass and is scattered over their protuberances, but by their natural ferocity, which increases with age. As Benito said, they are formidable creatures, and it is fortunate that their attacks can be guarded against. Suddenly cries were heard in the bow, caimans, caimans! Manuel and Benito came forward and looked. Three large saurians from 15 to 20 feet long had managed to clamor onto the platform of the raft. Bring the guns! Bring the guns! shouted Benito, making signs to the Indians and the blacks to get behind. Into the house, said Manuel, make haste, and in truth they could not attack them at once. The best thing they could do was to get into shelter without delay. It was done in an instant. The Garal family took refuge in the house, where the two young men joined them. The Indians and the Negroes ran into their huts and cabins as they were shutting the door. And Minha, said Manuel, she's not there, replied Lina, who had just run to her mistress's room. Good heavens, where is she, exclaimed her mother, and they all shouted at once, in Minha, Minha! No reply. There she is on the bow of the Angada, said Benito. Minha, shouted Manuel, the two young men and frugoso in Yoam Garal, thinking no more of danger, rushed out of the house, guns in hand. Scarcely were they outside when two of the alligators made a half turn and ran toward them. A dose of buckshot to the head, close to the eye from Benito, stopped one of the monsters, who mortally wounded, writhed in frightful convulsions and fell on his side. But the second still lived and came on, and there was no way of avoiding him. The huge alligator tore up to Yoam Garal. And after knocking him over with a sweep of his tail, ran at him with open jaws. At this moment, Torres rushed from the cabin, hatched in hand, and struck such a terrific blow that its edge sunk into the jaw of the Cayman and left him defenseless. Blinded by the blood, the animal flew to the side, and designedly or not fell over and was lost in the stream. Minha, Minha, shouted Manuel in distraction when he got to the bow of the Angada. Suddenly she came into view. She had taken refuge in the cabin of Araujo, and the cabin had just been upset by a powerful blow from the third alligator. Minha was flying aft, pursued by the monster, who was not six feet away from her. Minha fell. A second shot from Benito failed to stop the Cayman. He only struck the animal's carapace, and the scales flew to splinters, but the ball did not penetrate. Manuel threw himself at the girl to raise her or to snatch her from death. A side blow from the animal's tail knocked him down, too. Minha fainted, and the mouth of the alligator opened to crush her. And then Fraguoso jumped into the animal and thrust in a knife to the very bottom of his throat at the risk of having his arms snapped off by the two jaws had they quickly closed. Fraguoso pulled out his arm in time, but he could not avoid the chock of the Cayman, and was hurled back into the river, whose waters reddened all around. Fraguoso, Fraguoso, shrieked Lena, kneeling on the edge of the raft. A second afterward Fraguoso reappeared on the surface of the Amazon, safe and sound. But at the peril of his life he had saved the young girl, who soon came, too. And as all hands were held out to him, Manuel's, Yakita's, Minha's, and Lena's, and he did not know what to say, he ended by squeezing the hands of the young mulatto. However, though Fraguoso had saved Minha, it was assuredly to the intervention of Torres that Yoam Garal owed his safety. It was not, therefore, the fazender's life that the adventurer wanted. In the face of this fact, so much had to be admitted. Manuel said this to Benito in an undertone. That is true, replied Benito, embarrassed. You are right. And in a sense it is one cruel care the less. Nevertheless, Manuel, my suspicion still exists. It is not always a man's worst enemy who wishes him dead. Yoam Garal walked up to Torres. Thank you, Torres, he said, holding out his hand. The adventurer took a step or two backward without replying. Torres continued, Yoam, I am sorry that we are arriving at the end of our voyage, and that in a few days we must part. I owe you. Yoam Garal answered Torres, you owe me nothing. Your life is precious to me above all things, but if you will allow me, I have been thinking, in place of stopping at Manau's, I will go on to bell him. Will you take me there? Yoam Garal replied by an affirmative nod. In hearing this demand, Benito, in an unguarded moment, was about to intervene, but Manuel stopped him, and the young man checked himself, though not without a violent effort. Chapter 18 The Arrival In the morning after a night which was scarcely sufficient to calm so much excitement, they unmoored from the Cayman beach and departed. Before five days, if nothing interfered with their voyage, the raft would reach the port of Manau's. Minya had quite recovered from her fright, and her eyes and smiles thanked all those who had risked their lives for her. As for Lina, it seemed as though she was more grateful to the brave Fragoso than if it was herself that he was saved. I will pay you back sooner or later, Mr. Fragoso, said she, smiling. And how, Miss Lina? Oh, you know very well. Then if I know it, let it be soon and not late, replied the good-natured fellow. And from this day it began to be whispered about, that the charming Lina was engaged to Fragoso, that their marriage would take place at the same time as that of Minya and Manuel, and that the young couple would remain at Bellem with the others. Capital, capital, repeated Fragoso unceasingly, but I never thought Parra was such a long way off. As for Manuel and Benito, they had had a long conversation about what had passed. There could be no question about obtaining from Jean-Garrelle the decimal of her rescuer. Her life is precious to me above all things, Torres had said. This reply, hyperbolical and enigmatic at the time, Benito had heard and remembered. In the meantime, the young man could do nothing. More than ever they were reduced to waiting. To waiting, not for four or five days, but for seven or eight weeks, that is to say, for whatever time it would take for the raft to get to Bellem. There is in all this some mystery that I cannot understand, said Benito. Yes, but we are assured on one point, answered Manuel. It is certain that Torres does not want your father's life, for the rest we must still watch. It seemed that from this day Torres desired to keep himself more reserved. He did not seek to intrude on the family and was even less assiduous toward Minya. There seemed a relief in the situation of which all, safe perhaps Jean-Garrell felt the gravity. On the evening of the same day, they left on the right the island of Barroso, formed by a furor of that name, and Lake Manawari, which is fed by a confused series of petty tributaries. The night passed without incident, though Jean-Garrell had advised them to watch with great care. On the morrow of the 20th of August, the pilot, who kept near the right bank on account of the uncertain eddies on the left, entered between the bank and the islands. Beyond this bank, the country was dotted with large and small lakes, much as those of Calderon, Juan Rondena, and other black-watered lagoons. This water system marks the approach of the Rio Negro, the most remarkable of all the tributaries of the Amazon. In reality, the main river still bore the name of the Solimoans, and it is only after the junction of the Rio Negro that it takes the name which has made it celebrated among the rivers of the globe. During this day, the raft had to be worked under curious conditions. The arm followed by the pilot between Calderon Island and the shore was very narrow, although it appeared sufficiently large. This was owing to a great portion of the island being slightly above the mean level, but still covered by the high flood waters. On each side were massed forests of giant trees, whose summits towered some 50 feet above the ground, and joining one bank to the other formed an immense cradle. On the left, nothing could be more picturesque than this flooded forest, which seemed to have been planted in the middle of a lake. The stems of the trees arose from the clear still water, in which every interlacement of their baths were reflected with unequal purity. They were arranged on an immense sheet of glass, like the trees in miniature on some table, a purgen, and their reflection could not be more perfect. The difference between the image and the reality could scarcely be described. Duplicates of grandeur, terminated above and below by a vast parcel of green, thus seemed to form two hemispheres, inside which the Zhangada appeared to follow one of the great circles. It had been necessary to bring the raft under these baths, against which flowed the gentle current of the stream. It was impossible to go back. Hence the task of navigation with extreme care, so as to avoid the collisions on either side. In this wall, our Ajo's ability was shown, and he was admirably seconded by his crew. The trees of the forest furnished the resting places for the long poles, which kept the Zhangada in its course. The least blow to the Zhangada would have endangered the complete demolition of the woodwork, and caused the loss, if not of the crew, of the greater part of the cargo. It's truly very beautiful, said Minya, and it would be very pleasant for us always to travel in this way, on this quiet water shaded from the rays of the sun. At the same time, pleasant and dangerous, dear Minya, said Manuel. In a pierog, there is doubtless nothing to fear in sailing here, but on a huge raft of wood, better have a free course and a clear stream. We shall be quite through the forest in a couple of hours, said the pilot. Look well at it, then, said Lina. All these beautiful things pass so quickly. Ah, dear mistress, do you see the troops of monkeys desporting in the higher branches, and the birds admiring themselves in the pellucid water? And the flowers have opened on the surface, replied Minya, and which the current dendles like a breeze. And the long lianas, which so oddly stretched from one tree to another, added the young mulatto. And no fragoso at the end of them, said Lina's best roast. That was rather a nice flower you gathered in the forest of Iquitos. Just behold the flower, the only one in the world, said Lina quizzingly. And mistress, just look at the planted plants. And Lina pointed to the nymphias, with their colossal leaves, whose flowers beer buds as large as coconuts. Then, just where the banks plunged beneath the waters, there were clumps of Momokos reeds, with large leaves whose elastic stems bent to give passage to the pyroids and close again behind them. There was there that would tempt any sportsman for a whole world of aquatic birds fluttered between the higher clusters, which shook with the stream. Ibasis half lullingly posed on some old trunk, and gray herons motionless on one leg, solemn flamingos, who from a distance looked like red umbrellas scattered in the foliage, and finicopters of every color enlivened the water-temporary Morris. And along the top of the water glided long and swiftly swimming snakes, among them the formidable Guimnotus, whose electric discharges, successively repeated, paralyzed the most robust of men or animals, and end by dealing death. Precautions had to be taken against the Sucurius serpents, which, coiled round the trunk of some tree, unroll themselves, hang down, seize the prey, and draw it into their rings, which are powerful enough to crush a bullock. Had there not been met within these Amazonian forest reptiles, from 30 to 35 feet long, and even, according to M. Carey, do not some exist whose length reaches 47 feet and whose girth is that of a hawk's head. Had one of these Sucurius indeed got onto the raft, he would have proved as formidable as an alligator. Very fortunately, the travelers had to contend with neither Guimnotus nor Sucurius, and the passage across the submerged forest, which lasted about two hours, was affected without accident. Three days passed. They neared maniaos. 24 hours more, and the raft would be off the mouth of the Rio Negro, before the capital of the province of Amazons. In fact, on the 23rd of August, at five o'clock in the evening, they stopped at the southern point of Morris Island on the right bank of the stream. They only had to cross obliquely for a few miles to arrive at the port. But the pilot, Araujov, very properly would not risk it on that day as night was coming on. The three miles which remained would take three hours to travel, and to keep to the course of the river, it was necessary, above all things, to have a clear outlook. This evening, the dinner, which promised to be the last of this first part of the voyage, was not served without a certain amount of ceremony. Half the journey on the Amazon had been accomplished, and the task was worthy of a jewelry past. It was fitting to drink to the health of Amazonies a few glasses of that generous liquor which comes from the coast of Oporto and Setubal. Besides this was, in a way, the betrothal dinner of Fragoso and the charming Lina. That of Manuel and Minya had taken place at the Facendo of Iquitos several weeks before. After the young master and mistress, it was the turn of the faithful couple who were attached to them by so many bonds of gratitude. So Lina, who was to remain in the service of Minya, and Fragoso, who was about to enter into that of Manuel Valdez, sat at the common table and even had the places of honor reserved for them. Tourists, naturally, was present at the dinner, which was worthy of the larder and kitchen of the Jangada. The adventurer seated opposite to Joam Garal, who was always taciturn, listened to all that was said, but took no part in the conversation. Benito quietly and attentively watched him. The eyes of tourists with a peculiar expression constantly sought his father. One would have called them the eyes of some vile beast, trying to fasten his prey before he sprang on it. Manuel talked mostly with Minya. Between wiles, his eyes wandered to tourists, but he acted his part more successfully than Benito in a situation which, if it did not finish at Maniaos, would certainly end at Belém. The dinner was jolly enough. Lina kept it going with her good humor. Fragoso was his wittier parties. The Padre Pasaña looked gaily around on the little world he cherished, and on the two young couples which his hands would shortly bless in the waters of Para. Eat Padre, said Benito, who joined in the general conversation. Do honor to this betrothal dinner. You will want some strength to celebrate both marriages at once. The wile, my dear boy, replied Pasaña, seek out some lovely and gentle girl who wishes you well, and you will see that I can marry you at the same time. Well, answered Padre, exclaimed Manuel, let us drink to the coming marriage of Benito. We must look out for some nice young lady at Belém, said Minya. He should do what everybody else does. To the wedding of Mr. Benito, said Fragoso, who ought to wish all the world to marry him. They are right, sir, said Jaquita. I also drink to our marriage, and may you be as happy as Minya and Manuel and as Aya and your father have been. As you always will be, it is to be hoped, said Torres, drinking a glass of port without having pledged anybody. All here have their happiness in their own hands. It was difficult to say but this wish, coming from the adventurer, left an unpleasant impression. Manuel felt this and wishing to destroy its effect. Look here, Padre, he said. While we are on this subject, are there not any more couples to betroth on the raft? I do not know, answered Padre Pasaña, unless Torres, you are not married, I believe. No, I am, and always shall be, a bachelor. Benito and Manuel thought that while thus speaking Torres looked toward Minya. And what should prevent you marrying, replied Padre Pasaña, at Belém, you could find a wife whose age would suit yours, and it would be possible perhaps for you to settle in that town, that would be better than this wandering life, of which, up to the present, you have not made so very much. You are right, Padre, answered Torres. I do not say no. Besides, the example is contagious. Seeing all these young couples gives me rather a longing for marriage. But I am quite a stranger in Belém. And for certain reasons that would make my settlement more difficult. Where do you come from then? Ask Fragoso, who always had the idea that he had already met Torres somewhere. From the province of Minas Gerais. And you were born? In the capital of the Diamond district, Tijoco. Those who had seen Joao Amgaral at this moment would have been surprised at the fixity of his look, which met that of Torres. This is the LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading is by Vincent Lucid, DrSpeedBump.com D-R-S-P-E-E-D-P-U-M-P.com 800 Leagues on the Amazon by Jules Verne Part 1, Chapter 19, Ancient History But the conversation was continued by Fragoso, who immediately rejoined, What? You come from Tijoco, from the very capital of the Diamond district? Yes, Sir Torres, do you hail from that province? No, I come from the Atlantic seaboard in the north of Brazil, replied Fragoso. You do not know this Diamond country, Mr. Manuel, as Torres? A negative shake of the head from the young man, who was the only reply. I knew Mr. Benito continued Torres, addressing the younger Garal, whom he evidently wished to join in the conversation. You have never had curiosity enough to visit the Diamond Arraval? Never, dryly replied Benito. Ah, I should like to see that country said Fragoso, who unconsciously played Torres' game. It seems to me I should finish by picking up a Diamond worth something considerable. And what would you do with this Diamond worth something considerable for Fragoso, Querilinha? Sell it, then you would get rich all of a sudden? Very rich. Well, if you had been rich three months ago, you would never have had the idea of that liana. And if I had not had that exclaimed Fragoso, I should not have found a charming little wife, well, surely, all is for the best. You see, Fragoso said Minha, when you marry Lina, Diamond takes the place of Diamond, and you do not lose by the change. To be sure, Miss Minha gallantly replied Fragoso, rather, again. There could be no doubt that Turgis did not want the subject to drop, for he went on with, it is a fact that at Chijuco sudden fortunes are realized enough to turn any man's head. Have you heard tell of the famous Diamond of Aba Ate, which was valued at more than two million contos of Rias? Well, this stone, which weighed an ounce, came from the Brazilian mines. And there were three convicts, yes, three men sentenced to transportation for life, who founded by chance in the river Aba Ate at 90 leagues from Tero de Frio. At a stroke their fortune was made, asked Fragoso. No, replied Turgis. The Diamond was handed over to the Governor General of the mines. The value of the stone was recognized, and King Jorn, the sixth of Portugal, had it cut, and wore it on his neck on great occasions. As for the convicts, they got their pardon, but that was all, and the cleverest could not get much of an income out of that. You, doubtless, said Benito very dryly. Yes, I, why not? And said Turgis. Have you ever been to the Diamond District? Added he, this time addressing Choa Caral. Never, said Choa, looking straight at him. That is a pity, replied he. You should go there one day. It is a very curious place, I assure you. The Diamond of Alley is an isolated spot in the vast empire of Brazil, something like a park of a dozen leagues and circumference, which, in the nature of its soil, its vegetation, and its sandy rocks, surrounded by a circle of high mountains, differs considerably from the neighboring provinces. But, as I have told you, it is one of the richest places in the world, for from 1807 to 1817, the annual return was about 18,000 carats. Ah, there have been some rare finds there, not only for the climbers who seek the precious stone up to the very tops of the mountains, but also for the smugglers who fraudulently export it. But the work in the mines is not so pleasant, and the 2,000 Negroes employed in that work by the government are obliged even to divert the watercourses to get at the Diamond Tiferous Sand. Formally, it was easier work. In short, so far go so, the good time has gone. But what is still easy is to get the diamonds in scoundrel fashion, that is, by theft, and stop. In 1826, when I was about eight years old, a terrible drama happened at Chijuco, which showed that criminals would recoil from nothing if they could gain a fortune by one bolt of stroke. But perhaps you are not interested? On the contrary, Tois, go on, replied Joakaral, in a singularly calm voice. So be it, answer Tois. Well, the story is about stealing diamonds, and a handful of those pretty stones is worth a million, sometimes two. And Tois, whose face expressed the vilest sentiments of cupidity, almost unconsciously made a gesture of opening and shutting his hand. This is what happened, he continued. At Chijuco, it is customary to send off in one delivery the diamonds collected during the year. They are divided into two lots, according to their size, after being sorted in a dozen sieves with holes of different dimensions. These lots are put into sacks and forwarded to the Rio de Janeiro. But as they are worth many millions, you may imagine they are heavily escorted. A workman, chosen by the superintendent, four cavalrymen from the district regimen, and ten men on foot complete the convoy. They first make for the Eureka, where the commandant puts his seal on the sacks, and then the convoy continues its journey to Rio de Janeiro. I should add that, for the sake of precaution, the start is always kept a secret. Well, in 1826, a young fellow named Dacosta, who was about 22 or 23 years of age, and who for some years had been employed at Chijuco in the offices of the Governor General, devised the following scheme. He leagued himself with a band of smugglers and informed them of the date of the departure of the convoy. The scoundrels took their measures accordingly. They were numerous and well-armed. Close to Rio de Janeiro, during the night of the 22nd of January, the gangs suddenly attacked the diamond escort, who defended themselves bravely. But were all massacred, with the exception of one man, who seriously wounded, managed to escape and bring the news of the horrible deed. The workman was not spared any more than the soldiers. He fell beneath the blows of the thieves and was doubtless dragged away and thrown over some precipice, for his body was never found. And this Dacosta, as Choua got out, well, his crime did not do him much good, for suspicion soon pointed toward him. He was accused of having got up the affair. In vain he protested that he was innocent. But thanks to the situation he held, he was in a position to know the date on which the convoy's departure was to take place. He alone could have informed the smugglers. He was charged, arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Such a sentence required his execution in twenty-four hours. Was the fellow executed, as Dacosta? No, replied Torres. They shut him up in the prison at Villarica. And during the night, a few hours only before his execution, whether alone or helped by others, he managed to escape. Has this young man been heard of since, as Choua got out? Never, replied Torres. He probably left Brazil, and now, in some distant land, lives a cheerful life with the proceeds of the robbery, which he is sure to have realized. Perhaps on the other hand, he died miserably, and said Choua got out. And perhaps, added Padre Posanna, heaven caused him to feel remorse for his crime. Here they all rose from the table, and, having finished their dinner, went out to breathe the evening air. The sun was low on the horizon, but an hour had still to elapse before nightfall. These stories are not very lively, said Fragoso, and our betrothal dinner was best at the beginning. But it was your fault, Fragoso, Eslinha. How my fault? It was you who went on talking about the district and the diamonds, when you should not have done so. Well, that's true, replied Fragoso, but I had no idea we were going to wind up in that fashion. You are the first to blame, and the first to be punished, Ms. Linha, for I did not hear you laugh all through the dessert. The whole family strolled toward the bow of the Cigada. Manuel and Benito walked one behind the other without speaking. Yakita and her daughter silently followed, and all felt an unaccountable impression of sadness, as if they had a pre-sentiment of some coming calamity. Tohi stepped up to Chohakaral, who, with bowed head, seemed to be lost in thought, and, putting his hand on his shoulder, said, Chohakaral, may I have a few minutes' conversation with you? Chohak looked at Tohi, here, he asked. No, in private. Come, then. They went toward the house, entered it, and the door was shut on them. It would be difficult to depict what everyone felt when Chohakaral and Tohi's disappeared. What could there be in common between the adventurer and the honest facenda of Iquitos? The menace of some frightful misfortune seemed to hang over the whole family, and they scarcely dared speak to each other. Manuel, said Benito, seizing his friend's arm. Whatever happens, this man must leave us tomorrow at Manoos. Yes, it is imperative, answered Manuel. And if, through him, some misfortune happens to my father, I shall kill him. This is the end of Part 1, Chapter 19, recording by Vince Lucid. Part 1, Chapter 20 of 800 Leagues on the Amazon. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Jacob Miller. 800 Leagues on the Amazon by Jules Verne. Part 1, Chapter 20, Between the Two Men. For a moment, alone in the room, where none could see or hear them, Jomgurall and Torres looked at each other without uttering a word. Did the adventurer hesitate to speak? Did he suspect that Jomgurall would only reply to his demands by a scornful silence? Yes, probably so. So Torres did not question him. At the outset of the conversation, he took the affirmative and assumed the part of an accuser. Jomgurall said, Your name is not Gurall. Your name is DeCosta. At the guilty name which Torres thus gave him, Jomgurall could not repress a slight shudder. You are Jom DeCosta, continue Torres, who, 25 years ago, were a clerk in the Governor General's office at Tijuca, and you are the man who is sentenced to death in this affair of the robbery and murder. No response from Jomgurall, whose strange tranquillity surprised the adventurer. Had he made a mistake in accusing his host? No, for Jomgurall made no start at the terrible accusations. Doubtless he wanted to know to what Torres was coming. Jom DeCosta, I repeat, it was you whom they sought for this diamond affair, whom they convicted of crime and sentenced to death, and it was you who escaped from the prison at Villarica a few hours before you should have been executed. Do you not answer? Rather a long silence followed this direct question, which Torres asked. Jomgurall, still calm, took a seat. His elbow rested on a small table, and he looked fixedly at his accuser without bending his head. Will you reply? repeated Torres. What reply do you want from me? said Jom quietly. A reply, slowly answered Torres, that will keep me from finding out the chief of the police at Maneus, and saying to him, a man is there whose identity can easily be established, who can be recognized even after twenty-five years' absence, and this man was the instigator of the diamond robbery at Tejuco. He was the accomplice of the murderers of the soldiers of the escort. He is the man who escaped from execution. He is Jomgurall whose true name is Jom de Costa. And so, Torres said Jomgurall, I shall have nothing to fear from you if I give you the answer you require. Nothing, for neither you nor I will have any interest in talking about the matter. Neither you nor I asked Jomgurall. It is not with money, then, that your silence is to be bought. No, no matter how much you offered me. What do you want then? Jomgurall replied Torres, here is my proposal. Do not be in a hurry to reply by a formal refusal. Remember that you are in my power. What is this proposal? asked Jomgurall. Torres hesitated for a moment. The attitude of this guilty man, whose life he held in his hands, was enough to astonish him. He had expected a stormy discussion in prayers and tears. He had before him a man convicted of the most heinous of crimes, and the man never flinched. At length, crossing his arms, he said, You have a daughter, I like her, and I want to marry her. Apparently Jomgurall expected anything from such a man, and was as quiet as before. And so, he said, The worthy Torres is anxious to enter the family of a murderer and a thief? I am the sole judge of what it suits me to do, said Torres. I wish to be the son-in-law of Jomgurall, and I will. You ignore, then, that my daughter is going to marry Manuel Valdez. You will break it off with Manuel Valdez. And if my daughter declines? If you tell her all, I have no doubt she would consent, was the impudent answer. All? All, if necessary, between her own feelings and the honour of her family and the life of her father, she would not hesitate. You are a consummate scoundrel, Torres, quietly said Jomgurall, whose coolness never forsook him. A scoundrel and a murderer were made to understand each other. At these words, Jomgurall rose, advanced to the adventurer, and looking him straight in the face. Torres, he said, If you wish to become one of the family of Jom De Costa, you ought to know that Jom De Costa was innocent of the crime for which he was condemned. Really? And I add, replied Jom, that you hold the proof of his innocence and are keeping it back to proclaim it on the day when you marry his daughter. Fair play, Jomgurall, answered Torres, lowering his voice, and when you have heard me out, you will see if you dare refuse me your daughter. I am listening, Torres. Well, said the adventurer, half keeping back his words, as if he was sorry to let them escape from his lips. I know you are innocent. I know it, for I know the true culprit, and I am in the position to prove your innocence. And the unhappy man who committed the crime is dead. Dead, exclaimed Jomgurall, and the word made him turn pale in spite of himself, as if it had deprived him of all power of reinstatement. Dead, repeated Torres. But this man, whom I knew a long time after his crime, and without knowing that he was a convict, had written out at length, in his own hand, the story of this affair of the diamonds, even to the smallest details. Feeling his end approaching, he was seized with remorse. He knew where Jom De Costa had taken refuge, and under what name the innocent man had again begun a new life. He knew that he was rich in the bosom of a happy family, but he knew also that there was no happiness for him, and this happiness he desired to add to the reputation to which he was entitled. But death came. He entrusted to me, his companion, to do what he could no longer do. He gave me the proofs of De Costa's innocence for me to transmit them to him, and he died. The man's name explained Jom Guaral in a tone he could not control. You will know it when I am one of your family. And the writing? Jom Guaral was ready to throw himself on Torres to search him, to snatch from him the proofs of his innocence. The writing is in a safe place, replied Torres, and you will not have it until your daughter has become my wife. Now, will you still refuse me? Yes, replied Jom, but in return for that paper the half of my fortune is yours. The half of your fortune, explained Torres, agreed, on condition that Mina brings it to me at her marriage. And it is thus that you respect the wishes of a dying man, of a criminal tortured by remorse, and who has charged you to repair as much as he could the evil which he had done. It is thus, once more Torres, said Jom Guaral, you are a consummate scoundrel. Be it so, and as I am not a criminal, we were not made to understand one another. And you refuse? I refuse. It will be a ruin then, Jom Guaral. Everything accuses you in the proceedings that have already taken place. You are condemned to death, and you know, in sentences for crimes of that nature, the government is forbidden the right of commuting the penalty. Denounced, you are taken. Taken, you are executed, and I will denounce you. Master, as he was of himself, Jom could stand it no longer. He was about to rush on Torres. A gesture from the rascal cooled his anger. Take care, said Torres. Your wife knows not that she is the wife of Jom D'Costa. Your children do not know that they are the children of Jom D'Costa, and you are not going to give them the information. Jom Guaral stopped himself. He regained his usual command over himself, and his features recovered their habitual calm. This discussion has lasted long enough, said he, moving toward the door, and I know what there is left for me to do. Take care, Jom Guaral, said Torres, for the last time, for he could scarcely believe that this ignoble attempt at extortion had collapsed. Jom Guaral made him no answer. He threw back the door which opened under the veranda, made a sign to Torres to follow him, and they advanced toward the center of the Jengada, where the family were assembled. Benito, Manuel, and all of them, under a feeling of deep anxiety, had risen. They could see that the bearing of Torres was still menacing, and that the fire of anger still shone in his eyes. In extraordinary contrast, Jom Guaral was master of himself, and almost smiling. Both of them stopped before Yaquita and her people. Not one dared to say a word to them. It was Torres who, in a hollow voice and with his customary impudence, broke the painful silence. For the last time, Jom Guaral, he said, I ask you for a last reply, and here is my reply, and addressing his wife. Yaquita, he said, In peculiar circumstances, obliged me to alter what we have formally decided as to the marriage of Mina and Manuel. At last, exclaimed Torres, Jom Guaral, without answering him, shot at the adventurer at glance of the deepest scorn. But at the words Manuel had felt his heart beat as if it would break. The girl arose, as she fell, and she would seek shelter by the side of her mother. Yaquita opened her arms to protect, to defend her. Father, said Benito, who had placed himself between Jom Guaral and Torres, what were you going to say? I was going to say, answered Jom Guaral, raising his voice, that to wait for our arrival in Para for the wedding of Mina and Manuel is to wait too long. The marriage will take place here, no later than tomorrow, and the Jangada, with the aid of Padre Pasana, if, after a conversation I am about to have with Manuel, he agrees with me to defer it no longer. Ah, Father, Father, exclaimed the young man, wait a little before you call me so, Manuel, replied Jom, in a tone of unspeakable suffering. Here Torres, with crossed arms, gave the whole family a look of inconceivable insolence. So that is your last word, said he, extending his hand toward Jom Guaral? No, that is not my last word. What is it, then? This, Torres, I am master here. You will be off, if you please, and even if you do not please, and leave the Jangada at this very instant. Yes, this instant, exclaimed Benito, or I will throw you overboard. Torres shrugged his shoulders. No threats, he said, there of no use. It suits me also to land, and without delay, but you will remember me, Jom Guaral, we shall not be long before we meet. If it only depends on me, answered Jom Guaral, we shall soon meet, and rather sooner perhaps, then you will like. Tomorrow I shall be with Judge Riviera, the first magistrate of the province, whom I have advised of my arrival at Maneus. If you dare meet me there. At Judge Riviera, said Torres, evidently disconcerting, at Judge Riviera, answered Jom Guaral. And then, showing the parogue to Torres, with the gesture of supreme contempt, Jom Guaral ordered four of his people to land him without delay on the nearest point of the island. The scoundrel at last disappeared. The family, who were still appalled, respected the silence of its chief. But Frugoso, comprehending scarce half the gravity of the situation, and carried away by his customary vivacity, came up to Jom Guaral. If the wedding of Miss Mina and Mr. Manuel is to take place tomorrow on the raft, yours shall take place at the same time," kindly answered Jom Guaral, and making a signed Manuel, he retired to his room with him. The interview between Jom and Manuel had lasted for half an hour, and it seemed a sentry to the family when the door of the room was reopened. Manuel came out alone, his face glowed with generous resolution. Going up to Yorquita, he said, my mother to Mina, he said, my wife, and to Benito, he said, my brother, and turning toward Lina and Frugoso, he said to all, tomorrow. He knew all that had passed between Jom Guaral and Torres. He knew that, counting on the protection of Judge Rubiero, by means of a correspondence which he had had with him for a year past without speaking of it to his people, Jom Guaral had at last succeeded in clearing himself and convincing him of his innocence. He knew that Jom Guaral had boldly undertaken the voyage with the sole object of cancelling the hateful proceedings of which he had been the victim. So as not to leave on his daughter and son-in-law the weight of the terrible situation which he had had to endure so long himself. Yes, Manuel knew all this, and further he knew that Jom Guaral, or rather, Jom Ducosta, was innocent, and his misfortunes made him even dearer and more devoted to him. What he did not know was that the material proof of the innocence of the fazender existed, and that this proof was in the hands of Torres. Jom Guaral wished to reserve for the judge himself the use of this proof, which, if the adventurer had spoken truly, would demonstrate his innocence. Manuel confined himself then to announcing that he was going to Padre Pesana to ask him to get things ready for the two weddings. Next day, the 24th of August, scarcely an hour before the ceremony was to take place, a large pierogue came off from the left bank of the river and held the Jangada. A dozen paddlers had swiftly brought it from Maneus, and with a few men it carried the chief of the police who made himself known and came on board. At the moment, Jom Guaral and his family, attired for the ceremony, were coming out of the house. Jom Guaral asked the chief of the police. I am here, replied Jom. Jom Guaral continued the chief of the police. You have also been Jom Ducosta. Both names have been borne by the same man. I arrest you. And at these words, Yaquita and Mina, struck with stupor, stopped without any power to move. My father, a murderer, exclaimed Benito, rushing toward Jom Guaral. By a gesture, his father silenced him. I will only ask you one question, said Jom, with a firm voice, addressing the chief of police. Has the warrant in virtue of which you arrest me been issued against me by the justice at Maneus, by Judge Riviero? No, answered the chief of the police. It was given to me with an order for its immediate execution by his substitute. Judge Riviero was struck with apoplexy yesterday evening, and died during the night at two o'clock without having recovered his consciousness. Dead, exclaimed Jom Guaral, crushed for a moment by the news. Dead! Dead! But soon, raising his head, he said to his wife and children, Judge Riviero alone knew that I was innocent. My dear ones, the death of the judge may be fatal to me, but that is no reason for me to despair. And turning toward Manuel, Heaven help us, he said to him. We shall see if the truth will come down to the earth from above. The chief of the police made a sign to his men who advanced to secure Jom Guaral. But speak, father, shouted Benito, mad with despair. Say one word, and we shall contest, even by force, this horrible mistake of which you are the victim. There is no mistake here, my son, replied Jom Guaral. Jom D'Costa and Jom Guaral are one. I am in truth Jom D'Costa. I am the honest man whom a legal error unjustly doomed to death twenty-five years ago in the place of the true culprit. That I am quite innocent, I swear before Heaven, once for all, on your heads my children and on the head of your mother. All communication between you and yours is now forbidden, said the chief of the police. You are my prisoner, Jom Guaral, and I will rigorously execute my warrant. Jom, restrained by a gesture, his dismayed children and servants. Let the justice of man be done while we wait for the justice of God. And with his head on event, he stepped into the parogue. It seemed, indeed, as though of all present Jom Guaral was the only one whom this fearful thunderbolt, which had fallen so unexpectedly on his head, had fell to overwhelm.