Chapter 31 Chapter Eleven What's in the Box

What on earth happened?It is purely a physical phenomenon, and I will explain it to you below: National Gunboat Santa.The Graceful sailed for Manao, up the Amazon River, just across the Bay of Folia.When approaching the mouth of the Rio Negro, the gunboat hoisted colorful flags and fired salutes to salute the Brazilian flag. As soon as the cannon sounded, the water surface immediately produced a vibration effect, and the vibration spread all the way to the bottom of the river. Torres' body had begun to rot and become lighter. The vibration accelerated the expansion of the cell tissue, which just supported Torres' body.The body of the drowned person naturally floats to the surface of the Amazon River.

This common phenomenon is the reason for the reappearance of the corpse, and of course it must be admitted that Santa.It was a lucky coincidence that Grace appeared at the search site. Manoel gave a cry of surprise, and his companions followed suit.A small boat was immediately rowed over to the body, and others pulled the diver onto the raft. It is indescribable how terrified Manoel was when Benito was pulled onto the raft, where he lay motionless, without a sign of life. Is this the second body just returned by the Amazon River? The diving suit on the diver was immediately taken off. Benito lost consciousness completely after being shocked by the electric eel.

Manoel, terrified, called Benito's name and blew into his mouth, trying to revive his heart. Heartbeat!Heartbeat!he shouted. Yes!Benito's heart was still beating, and Manoel's care revived him within minutes. Corpse!Corpse! These were the first words Benito said. There it is!replied Fragoso, pointing to the boat that was carrying Torres' body to the raft. Benito, but you, what's the matter with you?Is it lack of air?asked Manoel. no!It was an electric eel jumping on me!But that voice?That explosion? A cannon rang!Manoel replied that it was the sound of the cannon that shook the dead bodies to the surface of the water!

At this time, the boat had just leaned against the side of the raft.Torres' body, which the Indians fished up, lay on the bottom of the boat.After soaking in the water for two days, his appearance has not changed.It's easy to spot it.There is no doubt that this is Torres' body. Fragoso, kneeling in the boat, had already begun to tear the dead man's clothes, tearing it into shreds. At this time, Torres' right arm was exposed, which attracted Fragoso's attention.Because an old scar was clearly visible on the arm, probably the result of a stab wound. This scar!cried Fragoso, that's it!I remember now

What?asked Manoel. A quarrel!right!It was three years ago that I witnessed a quarrel in Madeira!How could I forget it!This Torres was a guard in the Rangers!ah!I knew I'd seen him before, the bastard! What does this have to do with us now!cried Benito, Box!Box!Is it still on him? Benito was about to tear off the corpse's underclothes to find Manoel stopped him. Wait a minute, Benito.He said. Then he turned to those on board who were not part of the great raft, whose testimony would not be doubted afterwards: Friends, please pay attention to what we are doing here so that you can tell what happened before the judge.

Everyone approached the boat. Fragoso then unfastened the belt that was fastened under Torres' tattered cloak, and touched the pockets of his coat: Box.he shouted. Benito gave a cheer, and was about to grab the box, open it, and see what was inside. No, Manoel added, he was always calm.The judge should not be allowed to have the slightest doubt!Let people who have no stake in the case prove that the box was indeed found on Torres! Makes sense.replied Benito. My friend, Manoel went on to the foreman of the raft: Please come and search the pockets of this coat yourself. The foreman complied.He produced a metal box with a tight-screwed lid that looked intact despite being submerged in water.

Is the file still in there?Benito was thrilled. The box should be opened by a judge!Manoel replied that only he could verify that there were documents in the box! Yes you are right, Manoel!Benito replied, To Manao!Friends, go to Manao! Benito, Manoel, Fragoso and the foreman with the box immediately board a boat and are about to leave: Fragoso asks: What about Torres' body? The boat stopped. The Indians had thrown the rogue's body into the water, and the body was floating on the river. Torres is nothing but a rascal, said Benito, and although I fought him openly, God killed him by my hand, but let him die without a place of burial!

So a second boat was ordered to fetch Torres' body and bring it ashore for burial. At this moment, a group of raptors flying on the river rushed towards the floating corpse.It turned out to be the American black vulture, a kind of mountain eagle, with a bald neck, long claws, and black like a crow. It is called Galinazos in South America. This bird is extremely gluttonous.The corpse was pecked by the bird's beak, and once the bloated gas was discharged, the specific gravity of the corpse increased immediately, and then gradually sank. Finally, the only remaining corpse of Torres finally disappeared in the waves of the Amazon River.

Ten minutes later, the boat drove all the way to Manao Pier.Benito and his companions went ashore and hurried forward through the streets of the city. Not long after, a group of people came to the official residence of Judge Yari Gates and asked a servant to report that they asked to see the judge immediately. The judge ordered them to be taken to the study. In the study, Manoel told the whole story, from the fair duel, when Torres was hit in the gut by Benito, to the time when the box was found on the dead man and the foreman took it out of the coat pocket of the dead man. . Although Manoel's narrative itself can indeed prove that Joam.D'Acosta's testimony about Torres and the deal Torres proposed was completely true, and Judge Jarry Gates couldn't help but smile a little skeptically.

This is the box, sir.Manoel said the box never came into our hands, the one who handed you the box was the one who found it from Torres! The judge took the box and looked at it over and over again, as if looking at a treasure.Then he shook the box, and a few coins made a metallic clang inside. Could it be that the file that everyone is looking for is not in the box?The evidence written by the murderer himself, Torres once wanted to sell it to Joam.Dacosta.Was the physical evidence proving the innocence of the criminal irretrievably lost? It is not difficult to imagine how nervous the people present were when they witnessed this situation.Benito was heartbroken, and finally said a word:

open it Sir, open this box!He finally shouted out hoarsely. Judge Jarry Gates began to unscrew the lid of the box. When the lid was opened, he turned the box upside down, and a few gold coins fell out of it, rolling straight on the table. But that page!That page!Benito uttered another exclamation and held the table to prevent himself from falling. The judge reached into the box with his fingers and with difficulty pulled out a sheet of yellowed paper, carefully folded and apparently free from water stains. document!It's a file!Fragoso cried, Yes!This is exactly the document I saw Torres take! Judge Jarrigates unfolded the paper, looked at it intently, then turned it over again, and looked at it from the side. The front and back of the paper were covered with large characters. A document indeed, he said, without a doubt.This is indeed a document! Yes, replied Benito, it is precisely this document that exonerates my father! I don't know anything about it, replied Judge Jarry Gates, and I'm afraid it will be hard to find out! Why?cried Benito, pale as death. Because the document was written in a coded language, Judge Jarry Gates replied, and the language how? We don't know how to decrypt it!