circumstances, and heard himself condemned to death.

There was no hope left for the accused. No commutation of the sentence
was possible, for the crime was committed in the diamond arrayal.
The condemned man was lost. But during the night which preceded his
execution, and when the gallows was already erected, Joam Dacosta
managed to escape from the prison at Villa Rica. We know the rest.

Twenty years later Ribeiro the advocate became the chief justice of
Manaos. In the depths of his retreat the fazender of Iquitos heard of
the change, and in it saw a favorable opportunity for bringing forward
the revision of the former proceedings against him with some chance of
success. He knew that the old convictions of the advocate would be still
unshaken in the mind of the judge. He therefore resolved to try and
rehabilitate himself. Had it not been for Ribeiro's nomination to the
chief justiceship in the province of Amazones, he might perhaps have
hesitated, for he had no new material proof of his innocence to bring
forward. Although the honest man suffered acutely, he might still have
remained hidden in exile at Iquitos, and still have asked for time to
smother the remembrances of the horrible occurrence, but something was
urging him to act in the matter without delay.

In fact, before Yaquita had spoken to him, Joam Dacosta had noticed that
Manoel was in love with his daughter.

The union of the young army doctor and his daughter was in every respect
a suitable one. It was evident to Joam that some day or other he would
be asked for her hand in marriage, and he did not wish to be obliged to
refuse.

But then the thought that his daughter would have to marry under a
name which did not belong to her, that Manoel Valdez, thinking he was
entering the family of Garral, would enter that of Dacosta, the head
of which was under sentence of death, was intolerable to him. No! The
wedding should not take place unless under proper conditions! Never!

Let us recall what had happened up to this time. Four years after the
young clerk, who eventually became the partner of Magalhaes, had arrived
at Iquitos, the old Portuguese had been taken back to the farm mortally
injured. A few days only were left for him to live. He was alarmed at
the thought that his daughter would be left alone and unprotected; but
knowing that Joam and Yaquita were in love with each other, he desired
their union without delay.

Joam at first refused. He offered t