es had place in his
hand the hand of the daughter who would never have believed that he was
the author of so frightful a crime.

And now the noise outside became loud enough to attract the prisoner's
attention. For an instant Joam raised his head; his eyes sought the
window, but with a vacant look, as though he were unconscious, and the
next instant his head again sank into his hands. Again he was in thought
back at Iquitos.

There the old fazender was dying; before his end he longed for the
future of his daughter to be assured, for his partner to be the sole
master of the settlement which had grown so prosperous under his
management. Should Dacosta have spoken then? Perhaps; but he dared not
do it. He again lived the happy days he had spent with Yaquita, and
again thought of the birth of his children, again felt the happiness
which had its only trouble in the remembrances of Tijuco and the remorse
that he had not confessed his terrible secret.

The chain of events was reproduced in Joam's mind with a clearness and
completeness quite remarkable.

And now he was thinking of the day when his daughter's marriage with
Manoel had been decided. Could he allow that union to take place under a
false name without acquainting the lad with the mystery of his life? No!
And so at the advice of Judge Ribeiro he resolved to come and claim the
revision of his sentence, to demand the rehabilitation which was his
due! He was starting with his people, and then came the intervention of
Torres, the detestable bargain proposed by the scoundrel, the indignant
refusal of the father to hand over his daughter to save his honor and
his life, and then the denunciation and the arrest!

Suddenly the window flew open with a violent push from without.

Joam started up; the souvenire of the past vanished like a shadow.

Benito leaped into the room; he was in the presence of his father, and
the next moment Manoel, tearing down the remaining bars, appeared before
him.

Joam Dacosta would have uttered a cry of surprise. Benito left him no
time to do so.

"Father," he said, "the window grating is down. A rope leads to the
ground. A pirogue is waiting for you on the canal not a hundred yards
off. Araujo is there ready to take you far away from Manaos, on the
other bank of the Amazon where your track will never be discovered.
Father, you must escape this very moment! It was the judge's own
suggestion!"

"It must be done!" added Manoel.

"Fly!