Chapter 22 Chapter 2 the first moments

carrying Joam.Galar, namely Joam.Da Costa From now on, the great ship we call him by his real name had just disappeared when Benito walked towards Manoel. what do you knowhe asks. I know your father is innocent!Yes!Innocent!Manoel kept saying that twenty-three years ago he had been sentenced to death for an unfounded crime! He told you all, Manoel? All, Benito!Said the young man, the honest manor would not hide anything from his son-in-law, his daughter's husband! So, what about the evidence to prove his innocence, will my father reveal it to the world? Benito, Joam.D'Acosta's twenty-three years of respectable life and his speech and behavior will testify to him, and he will say to the court: I am Joam.Dacosta!I don't want to live this hypocritical life again!I don't want to be incognito anymore!You sentenced an innocent man!Please avenge his injustice!

Did you believe my father without hesitation when he told you this?asked Benito aloud. Don't hesitate for a moment, brother!Manoel said. The hands of the two young men were tightly and sincerely held together. Then Benito went up to Father Passana and said: Father, please take my mother and sister to their rooms!Don't leave them this day!No one here doubts my father's innocence, no one you know!Tomorrow my mother and I will go to the sheriff.He won't ban us from visiting the prison.Will not!That's too cruel!When we met my father, we discussed together what action should be taken to restore his honor!

Yaquita was almost stupefied; she was stunned by the sudden blow, but the brave woman regained her composure immediately.Former Yaquita.Galar became Yaquita.Dacosta.She had no doubts about her husband's innocence.She didn't even want to blame Joam.Da Costa married her under a false name.All she could think of was the happy life brought to her by this upright wronged man!Yes!Tomorrow, she will visit the prison. If the prison doesn't open the door for her, she won't leave! Father Passana took her and the weeping Mina away, and the three of them walked into the house. Only Manoel and Benito were left alone.

Now, said Beierto, Manoel, I want to know what my father said to you. I have nothing to hide from you, Benito. What is Torres doing on board? Sell ​​this past to your father. So, when we met him in the Iquitos forest, he had planned to get close to my father? There can be no doubt, said Manoel, that this infamous, long-planned blackmail was on the mind of the shameless man as he walked towards the manor. So when we told him my father and the family were going to cross the border, he suddenly changed his plans? Yes, Benito, because Joam.Once D'Acosta set foot on Brazilian soil, he was more at his mercy than in Peru.That's why we were reunited with Torres in Tabatinga, where he had been waiting and monitoring our arrival.

And I even took the initiative to invite him to take the big raft!said Benito in despair. Brother, said Manoel, don't beat yourself up!Torres will meet us sooner or later!He is not one to give up easily!Even if we don't run into him in Tabatinga, we'll run into him in Manao! right!Manoel!You are right!We don't talk about the past anymore, it's time to think about what to do now!Blaming yourself won't help!Come on! Benito said so, patting his forehead with his hand, trying to recall all the details of the incident. Let's think about it, he said, how did Torres know that twenty-three years ago my father had been convicted in that heinous case in Tijuca?

I don't know, said Manoel, and there's every indication that your father doesn't either. However, Torres knew Joam.Galar was originally named Joam.Dacosta. Yes. He knew my father had been hiding in Peru, in Iquitos, all these years. He knew, said Manoel, but how he knew it, I can't imagine! One last question, said Benito, what was the quid pro quo he offered my father in that brief conversation before he was driven away? He threatened to expose Joam.Gallard is Joam.Da Costa, if he refuses to pay for his silence. At what price? At the price of marrying Mina!Manoel said without hesitation, his face pale with anger.

This bastard dares to wishful thinking!cried Benito. Benito, you already know how your father answered this shameless request! Yes, Manoel, yes!The answer of a righteous outraged man!He drove Torres away!But it's not enough to drive him away!No!I don't think it's enough.It was because of Torres that my father was arrested, wasn't he? Yes, because of his denunciation! Well, Benito said angrily, pointing to the right bank of the river, I must find Torres!I must know how he knows this secret!If he refuses to say I know what to do! What you want to do is exactly what I want to do!Manoel said equally calmly and equally firmly.

No Manoel no!I do it alone! We are brothers, Benito, said Manoel, this is the revenge of both of us, and we must avenge it together. At this time, the navigator Aroruo, who had been observing the river situation, walked up to the two young men. Have you decided whether the big raft will continue to moor at Mugla Island or sail into Manao Harbour?he asks. This issue must be carefully considered before it gets dark. Because, Joam.News of D'Acosta's arrest had spread around the city.It undoubtedly aroused the curiosity of the residents of Manao City.But did it just arouse people's curiosity about the criminal, the mastermind of the sensational Tijuca robbery?Will it spark a mass movement against murderers who have not been executed?In view of this assumption, would it not be safer to anchor the raft on the island of Mugla, on the right bank of the river, a few miles from Manao?

They repeatedly weigh the pros and cons. No!To stop here, said Benito, would be to abandon my father and doubt his innocence!This will make people feel that we are afraid to share with him!Should go to Manao immediately! You are right, Benito, said Manoel, let us go! Aroruo nodded in agreement, and then began to make preparations for leaving the island.Sailing must be done with care.Now cross the Amazon River diagonally.The volume of this section of the river was doubled by the influx of the Negro River, and the raft headed for the mouth of the Negro River, twelve miles from the left bank of the Amazon.

The cable was untied, and the raft left the island, rushed towards the river bed, and began to cross the Amazon diagonally.Due to Aroruo's skillful use of the water flow formed by the unevenness of the river bank, and the cooperation of the crew's long poles, the big raft moved in the predetermined direction. Two hours later, the large raft reached the opposite bank and moored near the mouth of the Negro River.It was with the help of the current that the big raft landed in a low-lying place in a wide bend on the left bank of the Negro River. At five o'clock in the evening, the big raft finally docked firmly on the left bank.It wasn't part of Manao Harbor, but it was less than a mile away.The speed of the water flow is quite fast. If it is not very fast upstream, I am afraid it will not get there.

A large raft is moored on the black Negro River, beside a steep bank covered with a plant called ceropias with golden buds, surrounded by straight clumps of foro reeds, which the Indians used to make offensive weapons. Some citizens strolled along the shore.Apparently they approached the raft out of curiosity.Joam.The news of D'Acosta's arrest had long been known; but curiosity did not cause the Manaos to act rashly, and they proceeded with great caution. Benito thought of going ashore that very evening.Manoel stopped him. Let's wait until tomorrow, he said to Benito, it will be dark soon, and we must not leave the raft! All right!Just wait until tomorrow!Benito said. At this moment Yaquita came out of the house, Mina following her.Although the daughter is still crying, the mother has wiped away the tears, and she looks resolute and courageous.The woman was felt to be fully prepared to exercise power and fulfill duty. Yaquita walked slowly up to Manoel and said: Manoel, listen to what I say to you, for my conscience compels me to do so. Say it!Manoel said. Yaquita looked at him and said: Yesterday, you and my husband JoamAfter Da Costa finished talking, you came up to me and called me: my mother!You take Mina by the hand and say to her: My wife!You knew everything then, Joam.Da Costa's past is crystal clear! Yes, said Manoel, if I hesitate even a little bit, let God punish me! Yes, Manoel, said Yaquita, but then JoamD'Acosta has not been arrested.Things have changed now, although my husband is innocent, he is in prison; his past is well known; Mina is the daughter of a death row It's Mina.Dacosta, or Mina.Galal, it doesn't matter to me!Manoel cried out that he could not control himself any longer. Manoel!Mina murmured. If Lina hadn't supported her, she would have been unable to support her anymore. My mother, if you will not kill her, said Manoel, call me son! my son!my child! This was all Yaquita's answer, and the tears she had tried so hard to hold back burst out of her eyes. We go back to the house.How can an upright family sleep peacefully after suffering such a great misfortune?How long is the night!