Chapter 35 Chapter Fifteen The Final Effort

However, the judge is not alone in wasting his efforts in vain.Benito, Manoel and Mina also got together to try to uncover the secrets of this document. As for Fragoso, with Lina's help, he was unwilling to stand idly by; , but also to no avail, always can not find that number! Find it, Fragoso!The mulatto girl kept repeating to him: Find it! I will find it!Fragoso replied. But he still couldn't find it. But here it should be said that Fragoso had an idea, a plan he was about to carry out, which he did not want to speak of, even from Lina, which haunted his mind and could not get rid of it: he was going to Find out who the forest captain's guards are and who wrote the cipher text, admitting to being the murderer of Tijuka.The area in which the guard operated was the part of the Amazonas province where Fragoso had encountered the guard a few years earlier, and the district to which it belonged was not too far from Manao.Downriver, just over fifty miles, is near the mouth of the Madeira, a tributary on the right bank, where you may meet the chief of the Forest Guard, of whom Torres was once an associate.Within two days, three at the most, Fragoso would be able to get in touch with Badass Torres' old colleagues.

Yes, maybe, I can do that, he thought over and over again, but then?Even if I succeed, what will happen?If it can be confirmed that one of Torres' companions has recently died, will this prove that this person is the murderer?It can be proved that he gave Torres a document in which he confessed his crimes, for Joam.Is Da Costa cleared?Can you figure out that number in the end?cannot!Only two people know that number!Murderer and Torres!But both of them are no longer alive! Fragoso thought this way.It couldn't have been more obvious than that his plans would come to nothing.But the idea still prevailed.An irresistible force impels him to go, although he is not even sure that he will find the Madeira Guard!Because the guards might go hunting in other parts of the province, Fragosau would have to spend more time to find the team, and the time he could control was very limited!Besides, what if I found it?

Sure enough, the next day, August 29, before sunrise, Fragoso quietly left the raft without telling anyone, and came to Manao, where many small boats go down the Amazon River every day. , he got into one of the boats. No one saw Fragoso on board the boat, and it was a surprise that he hadn't been seen all day.No one, not even the half-breed girl, could explain how such a faithful servant should have disappeared at such a critical time. Some people even wondered if it was not unreasonable that the poor boy might feel that he was all to blame for meeting Torres on the frontier and leading him to the big raft. Could it be that he was so heartbroken and short-sighted?

But if Fragoso blames himself like this, what should Benito say?The first time, in Iquitos, he was the one who took Torres to the farm.The second time, in Tabatinga, he took Torres with him on a big raft.The third time he dueled Torres, killed him, and destroyed the only evidence in favor of the condemned man! Benito blamed everything on himself, the arrest of his father, and all the terrible consequences that might arise from it! For if Torres were still alive, Benito could have said that the soldier, out of various considerations, benevolence or profit, would eventually hand over the documents.Since Torres has nothing to do with this case, as long as he pays a high price, is it still afraid that he will not speak up?In this way, can't the document that everyone is looking for be handed over to the judge for review?Yes!It may be so!But the only person who could provide evidence died at the hands of Benito.

That was what the poor young man kept repeating to his mother, to Manoel, and to himself!His conscience told him that he should be responsible for the disastrous consequences. Yet the brave Yaquita remained undisturbed in the presence of her husband and son, who remained by his side during all the required visiting hours, while his son was so heartbroken that one feared he would act. It's silly. In her we rediscover the fearless daughter of Magalaes, a worthy companion of the owner of the Iquitos estate. In addition, Joam.Da Costa's attitude also supported her to withstand this test.This is a good man, a serious Puritan, a simple laborer, who fought all his life and never showed weakness for a moment.

Judge Ribeiro was so convinced of his innocence that his death was a most terrible blow to him, but he was not broken.Was it not with the help of his former defense lawyer that he had hope of redressing his wrongdoing?He dismissed Torres' involvement in the case as a trivial factor.Moreover, he had no knowledge of the document when he decided to leave Iquitos and return to court in his home country.All the credentials he brought were moral proofs only.He would certainly not ignore any physical evidence that came up during the course of the case, whether it was before or after his arrest, but his position would remain the same if it were lost under regrettable circumstances, Just like the situation when crossing the Brazilian border, he said at that time: This is my past, this is my present, and this is the hardworking, faithful, and upright life I brought to you!Your first sentence was unfair!After twenty-three years in exile, here I come!I'm here!Please judge me!

Therefore, Torres died, and the documents found on him were indecipherable, and all this was in the hands of Joam.D'Acosta's influence was far less intense than that felt on his children, friends, and servants. I believe in my innocence, he repeated to Yaquita, just like I believe in God!If God thinks my life is useful to my relatives, friends, and needs a miracle to save it, God will do it, if not, I will die!He alone is the Judge! As time went on, the residents of Manao City became more and more passionate, and people talked about this matter with rare enthusiasm.All the mysteries attract the attention of the public, and the only talking point here is the document.By the evening of the fourth day, no one doubted that it contained evidence proving the innocence of the condemned prisoner.

And it must be said that everyone has even been mobilized to decipher this difficult document.Indeed, the "Journal de Barra" published copies of the documents and, at the request of the inhabitants of Manao, distributed a large number of manuscripts, which did not let go of any possibility of uncovering the secret, even if it was only a fluke, they said. , this fluke is sometimes an alias for God's will. In addition, a reward of one hundred Gundus was offered, and whoever could find out the number that has not been found so far and understand the document would be rewarded with this wealth.So people of all classes did not eat, drink, or sleep to study this incomprehensible document.

However, it is useless to do so, and it may even be a waste of effort for the world's smartest analyst. In addition, the residents were also informed that as soon as they found the answer, they should send it to Judge Yerry Gates at the residence of Judge Shengzi Road without delay; There will be no movement! In fact, of all those who have worked on this vexing conundrum, Judge Jarry Gates is one of the most sympathetic.After a series of natural inferences, he now agreed with the general opinion that the document was relevant to the case of Tijuca, was written by the murderer himself, and could be attributed to Joam.Da Costa cleared.So he could only work harder to find clues.What guides him is not just art for the sake of art, but a sense of justice and sympathy for a person who has been wrongly imprisoned.If the human brain really consumes some kind of organic phosphorus in the process of thinking, then the judge has already consumed countless kilograms of organic phosphorus to mobilize his sensory center, but in the final analysis, he got nothing, nothing!

But Judge Jarry Gates didn't want to let go just yet.If he can only rely on luck now, he hopes that this luck can help him!He wanted to use all possible and impossible methods to make mistakes!It had turned into a kind of madness in him, a kind of madness, and what was worse, it was just a kind of helpless madness! In the evening of this day, he tried countless different numbers and always chose numbers at random, but he still couldn't figure it out!well!If he had time, he would definitely dive in without hesitation and try all the millions of combinations that ten numbers can form!He will spend his whole life on it, and he may even go crazy in less than a year!go Ape!well!Is he still sick?

So, he thought that this document might be read in reverse.So, he turned the file over, held it up to the light, and looked at it that way. Useless!The numbers he came up with were also in vain when calculated with this new method! Perhaps the document should be read in reverse, starting from the last letter and ending with the first letter, and rewritten. Maybe the person who wrote the document did this to make the document more difficult to understand. Useless!This new combination produces only a string of letters that is completely inexplicable! At eight o'clock in the evening, Judge Jarry Gates covered his face with his hands. He was exhausted both mentally and physically. Suddenly, there was a sound outside the door.Almost at the same time, although he had the prohibition first, the door of the room was suddenly opened. Benito and Manoel appeared in front of him. Benito's appearance was shocking. Manoel helped him. The unfortunate young man could no longer stand up. The judge jumped up: What's the matter, gentlemen, what do you want from me?he asked. number!number!Benito was almost mad with pain, he cried, the number of documents! So you found it?Judge Jarry Gates hurriedly asked. No, sir, replied Manoel, but what about you? No!No! No!Benito yelled. Benito was completely desperate, he drew the weapon from his waist and stabbed himself in the chest. The judge and Manoel pounced on him and wrested his weapon with difficulty. Benito, Judge Jarry Gates tried to restore his calm voice, and said, now that your father will inevitably suffer for others, you have something more useful to do than commit suicide! What's up?asked Benito. You should try to rescue him! How to save? That is for you to guess, replied the judge, it is not for me to tell you!