s
master's room.

Another ring at the bell; another call to Bobo, who, for his own safety,
pretended to be deaf on this occasion. And now a third ring at the bell,
which unhitched the crank and broke the cord.

This time Bobo came up. "What is it, sir?" asked Bobo, prudently waiting
on the threshold.

"Advance, without uttering a single word!" replied the judge, whose
flaming eyes made the negro quake again.

Bobo advanced.

"Bobo," said Jarriquez, "attend to what I say, and answer immediately;
do not even take time to think, or I----"

Bobo, with fixed eyes and open mouth, brought his feet together like a
soldier and stood at attention.

"Are you ready?" asked his master.

"I am."

"Now, then, tell me, without a moment's thought--you understand--the
first number than comes into your head."

"76223," answered Bobo, all in a breath. Bobo thought he would please
his master by giving him a pretty large one!

Judge Jarriquez had run to the table, and, pencil in hand, had made out
a formula with the number given by Bobo, and which Bobo had in this way
only given him at a venture.

It is obvious that it was most unlikely that a number such as 76223 was
the key of the document, and it produced no other result than to
bring to the lips of Jarriquez such a vigorous ejaculation that Bobo
disappeared like a shot!

CHAPTER XV. THE LAST EFFORTS

THE MAGISTRATE, however, was not the only one who passed his time
unprofitably. Benito, Manoel, and Minha tried all they could together
to extract the secret from the document on which depended their father's
life and honor. On his part, Fragoso, aided by Lina, could not remain
quiet, but all their ingenuity had failed, and the number still escaped
them.

"Why don't you find it, Fragoso?" asked the young mulatto.

"I will find it," answered Fragoso.

And he did not find it!

Here we should say that Fragoso had an idea of a project of which he
had not even spoken to Lina, but which had taken full possession of his
mind. This was to go in search of the gang to which the ex-captain of
the woods had belonged, and to find out who was the probable author of
this cipher document, which was supposed to be the confession of the
culprit of Tijuco. The part of the Amazon where these people were
employed, the very place where Fragoso had met Torres a few years
before, was not very far from Manaos. He would only have to descend the
river for about fifty miles, to the mouth