lied Torres; "the diamond was handed over to the
governor-general of the mines. The value of the stone was recognized,
and King John VI., of Portugal, had it cut, and wore it on his neck on
great occasions. As for the convicts, they got their pardon, but that
was all, and the cleverest could not get much of an income out of that!"

"You, doubtless?" said Benito very dryly.

"Yes--I? Why not?" answered Torres. "Have you ever been to the diamond
district?" added he, this time addressing Joam Garral.

"Never!" said Joam, looking straight at him.

"That is a pity!" replied he. "You should go there one day. It is a very
curious place, I assure you. The diamond valley is an isolated spot in
the vast empire of Brazil, something like a park of a dozen leagues in
circumference, which in the nature of its soil, its vegetation, and
its sandy rocks surrounded by a circle of high mountains, differs
considerably from the neighboring provinces. But, as I have told you,
it is one of the richest places in the world, for from 1807 to 1817 the
annual return was about eighteen thousand carats. Ah! there have been
some rare finds there, not only for the climbers who seek the precious
stone up to the very tops of the mountains, but also for the smugglers
who fraudulently export it. But the work in the mines is not so
pleasant, and the two thousand negroes employed in that work by the
government are obliged even to divert the watercourses to get at the
diamantiferous sand. Formerly it was easier work."

"In short," said Fragoso, "the good time has gone!"

"But what is still easy is to get the diamonds in
scoundrel-fashion--that is, by theft; and--stop! in 1826, when I was
about eight years old, a terrible drama happened at Tijuco, which showed
that criminal would recoil from nothing if they could gain a fortune by
one bold stroke. But perhaps you are not interested?"

"On the contrary, Torres; go on," replied Joam Garral, in a singularly
calm voice.

"So be it," answered Torres. "Well, the story is about stealing
diamonds, and a handful of those pretty stones is worth a million,
sometimes two!"

And Torres, whose face expressed the vilest sentiments of cupidity,
almost unconsciously made a gesture of opening and shutting his hand.

"This is what happened," he continued. "At Tijuco it is customary to
send off in one delivery the diamonds collected during the year. They
are divided into two lots, according to their size, after being