Chapter 19 Chapter 19 A Past Event

Torres continued chatting with Fragoso, and the young man then asked, how!You were born in Tiruca, the land of diamonds? yes!Torres said, are you from this place too? no!I'm from a province in the north of Brazil, on the Atlantic coast.Fragoso said. Mr. Manoel, you don't know this land of diamonds?asked Torres. The young man shook his head, expressing his ignorance. And what about you, Mr. Benito?Torres asked young Galar again, obviously trying to draw him into the conversation, did you never think of going to see the land of diamonds? Never thought about it.Benito replied stiffly.

ah!I'd love to go there and have a look!Fragoso said he unknowingly brought Torres and I thought he would find a few priceless diamonds there! What do you do with these precious diamonds, Fragoso?Lina asked. I can sell them! Then you will be rich? Very rich! Well, if you had made your fortune three months ago, you probably would never have thought of this Sibo vine, would you? If I hadn't thought about it, exclaimed Fragoso, there wouldn't be a lovely girl, obviously, it's all God's will! You know that it is Providence, Fragoso, said Mina, that it made you marry my little Lina!Diamond for Diamond, you have nothing to lose!

Oh, Miss Mina, said Fragoso gallantly, I have earned it! It appears Torres didn't want to let the subject go, as he added: Tijuka did have a lot of windfalls, and many people were dizzy and at a loss because of this!Haven't you heard of the famous Arbaite diamond, which is worth two trillion ris!It's buried in a deposit in Brazil and weighs two ounces!It's three prisoners!Three prisoners sentenced to life-long exile were in a distance from Sailuo by chance.many.Found in the Abate River in Fuli Wu Ninety Miles! So, did they get rich?asked Fragoso. no, no!The diamonds were handed over to the mine manager, Torres said.The King of Portugal had it appraised and carved by the VI, and he wore it round his neck at the great ceremony, and the three prisoners received amnesty, but nothing else, which, if they had been cleverer, would have The benefits are not shallow.

Maybe you're smart?Benito said dryly. yes, I!why not?Torres said, have you ever been to the Land of Diamonds?This time he asked Joam.Galar. there has never been.Joam stared at Torres and said. That's a pity, said Torres, you should make a trip there sometime.It must be very interesting!In the vast land of the Brazilian Empire, the Diamond Village is just a small piece of land, like a park with a radius of twelve kilometers. Due to the nature of the soil, its vegetation and the circular sandy land surrounded by high mountains are very different from the neighboring provinces.But, as I have just heard, it is the richest place in the world, and from 1807 to 1817, the annual production of diamonds was about eighteen thousand carats. Twelve milligrams. 】,ah!Whether it is a person who goes to the top of the mountain to find diamonds.Or a smuggler smuggling diamonds, you can make a fortune there!Now, it is not so easy to mine diamond mines. The two thousand blacks hired by the government to mine the mines have to divert the river in order to extract the emery.In the past, it was much more convenient!

Indeed, says Fragoso, the good old days are gone! However, it is quite easy to obtain diamonds through illegal means, by which I mean theft.Listen, about 1826, when I was eight years old, there was a tragedy in Tijuca, which shows the audacity and unscrupulousness of criminals when they want to get riches!but maybe you're not interested in that On the contrary, Torres, go on.said Joam in a surprisingly calm tone. Well, Torres went on, it was a diamond heist, a handful of diamonds, a million, sometimes two! Torres showed an extremely greedy look, and his hands opened and closed subconsciously.

The way it happened, he said, was that in Tijuca, as a rule, diamonds were shipped only once a year.First use twelve sieves with different sieve sizes to divide the diamonds into two parts according to their size.Then, they are sent to Rio de Janeiro in bags.However, since they are worth millions, they are closely escorted.The escort consisted of a clerk chosen by the governor, four cavalry from the provincial regiment, and ten porters.They arrived at Vila first.Rica, the city defense commander stamped the pockets, and then marched towards Rio de Janeiro.I also forgot that, just in case, the time of each departure is kept secret.However, in 1826, a staff member named Da Costa, aged no more than twenty-two or three years old, who had worked under Governor Tijuca for many years, secretly planned a conspiracy.He revealed to a gang of smugglers when the convoy was leaving.This group of outlaws with a large number of people and well-equipped weapons is ready and ready to fight.After Vera.After Rica, on the night of January 22, the bandits attacked the convoy soldiers by surprise.Although the soldiers put up a heroic resistance, they were all killed, except one who escaped with serious injuries and reported to the government the state of the terrible battle.The clerk who was traveling with them was not spared either, maybe he fell into the hands of bad guys and was dragged off a cliff somewhere, because his body was never found.

And what about Da Costa?Joam.Gallard asked. His crime did him no favors.From all indications he was soon under suspicion.He is accused of orchestrating the conspiracy.He claimed his innocence, but to no avail.His position enabled him to know the day when the convoy would depart.Only he can reveal it to criminals.He was prosecuted, arrested, tried and finally sentenced to death.However, the judgment will be executed after twenty-four hours. Was the poor wretch put to death?asked Fragoso. No, Torres said, he was being held in Villa.In Rica's prison, at night, just hours before his execution, he escaped, either alone or with the help of his accomplices.

Has there been no news from him since then?Joam.Gallard asked. there has never been!Torres said he might have left Brazil and was probably now enjoying his stolen diamonds in some distant country! Perhaps on the contrary, he lived a life of poverty!Joam said. May God give him a conscience to repent of his crime!Father Passana said. At this time, everyone stood up from the table, dinner was over, and everyone went outside to breathe the fresh night air.The sun had already dipped below the horizon, but there was still an hour before nightfall would fully fall. The stories make it sad, says Fragoso, and our engagement dinner started off better.

It's all your fault, Fragoso.Lina said. What, blame me? Yes!You keep blah blah blah blah about diamond country and those diamonds and we just have to listen! Indeed!But I didn't expect it to end like this, said Fragoso! You are the first offender! And the first to be punished, Miss Lina, because I didn't hear you laugh while eating dessert! The whole family went to the bow.Manoel and Benito walked side by side in silence.Yaquita and Mina followed without saying a word, and everyone felt a kind of unresolved sadness, as if they had a premonition of some potential seriousness contained in the story.

Joam lowered his head, lost in deep thought.Torres stood beside him, putting his hands on his shoulders. Joam.Galar, he said, can I talk to you for a little while? Joam.Galar looked at Torres. Is it here?he asks. No!Talk alone! Come with me! The two turned and walked towards the house, entered the house, and closed the door. It's hard to describe how the crowd saw Joam.How Galar and Torres felt when they left.What could there be in common between this vagabond and the honest owner of the Iquitos estate?Everyone felt that a terrible misfortune was creeping in, but no one dared to ask.

Manoel, said Benito, grabbing his friend's arm, at any rate, tomorrow at Manao, throw him away! Yes!It must be so!Manoel said. If because he is!If he brings misfortune to my father I will kill him!