two through the streets of the city to
the church. They wished us to take the lead in the procession, but we
declined the honor and finally took position about the middle of the
line. They seemed to march through every street in the city, so eager
were they to impress the population that there was somebody else in the
world besides their religious persecutors. When we arrived at the
church they showered us once more with rose petals and confetti. After
prayer we were taken to the home of Jose Barretto to be entertained.

Now, this same Jose Barretto is a very remarkable character. He was
formerly Superintendent of the Manganese mines near by and very active
in politics. If any questionable work needed to be done in order to
influence an election Jose was called upon to do it. He is a great,
strong fellow, more than six feet in height and weighs, perhaps, 250
pounds. He was a violent man, fearless and desperate. I noted many
scars on his face which were evidences of many dangerous encounters. He
did not deign to steal the ballots, but would take possession of the
ballot box, extract from it the proper number of votes, destroy them,
seal the box and allow the count to be made. No one dared withstand
him. He was just as violent in his opposition to the Protestants. He
declared that he would beat any Protestant who should ever come into
his house.

Well, one day his own brother-in-law came to see him. This
brother-in-law was blind and also a Christian. After a while Jose and
his wife were commiserating the brother over his blindness when he
said, that though his eyes were clouded, his soul saw the light of
life. His sister said to him, "You must be a Protestant." He replied,
"Yes, thank God, I know Jesus Christ." She was so frightened that she
fainted, because she had visions of her burly husband pouncing upon her
blind brother and beating him to death. Her husband resuscitated her
and soothed her by saying, "I know I have said all of these things
about what I would do to the Protestants, but I hope I am not mean
enough to strike a blind man and certainly I would not injure your
brother." That night the brother asked them to read the Scriptures.
They had no Bible, but did possess a book of Bible stories, one of
which the sister read, and then the brother asked permission to pray.
Jose Barretto had always been reverential, and so he knelt in prayer.
So earnest and childlike was the praying of the blind brother and so
full