Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Egar City

At six o'clock in the morning on July 20, Yaquita, Mina, Lina and the two boys were preparing to leave the big raft. Although Joam Galal did not want to go ashore, but under the plea of ​​his wife and daughter, this time he decided to put down his busy work and accompany them on a tour. Manoel was delighted that Torres did not want to visit Ega, whom he hated so much that he never lost time to show it. As for Fragoso, Egar interested him for a different reason than Tabatinga, which was a small town compared with this one. Ega, however, was a capital of fifteen hundred inhabitants, inhabited by all the leading figures in the administration of a large city (compared to the district), including army commanders, police chiefs, civil judges, criminal judges , primary school teachers, and commanders of militia units at all levels.

Although the lovely boy had nothing to do in Ega, he still decided to go to the city, because Lina wanted to accompany the lady; but when he was about to go ashore, he obeyed Lina's request and stayed. "Mr. Fragoso?" she said, pulling him aside. "What's the matter, Miss Lina?" asked Fragoso. "I think your friend Torres doesn't want to go to Ega with us." "Yes, he may be on board, Miss Lina, please don't call him my friend." "But it was you who advised him to take the raft, before he thought of it himself." "Well, to tell you the truth, I think I did a stupid thing that day!"

"Then, to tell you the truth, I don't like this M. Torres very much." "I don't like him either, Miss Lina. I always feel like I've seen him somewhere. Although I can't remember exactly, one thing is for sure: I didn't have a good impression of him at the time!" "Have you seen this Torres? Where? When? Don't you remember anything? Perhaps we will learn from this who he is, and especially what he used to be!" "No... let me think... a long time ago? In what country? Under what circumstances? ... I can't remember." "Monsieur Fragoso?"

"Miss Lina!" "You must stay on board and monitor Torres while we are away!" "What!" cried Fragoso, "I can't accompany you to Ega, and I won't see you all day!" "I beg you!" "Is it an order?" "It's a request!" "Okay, I'll stay on board." "Mr. Fragoso!" "Miss Lina!" "thanks!" "Thank me with a handshake!" said Fragoso, "that's the way it should be!" Lina gave the honest young man his hand, and he held the girl's hand for a long time, gazing into her lovely face.So instead of getting into the canoe, Fragoso remained on the raft, spying on Torres.Was Torres aware of the crowd's dislike for him?Maybe, maybe not, he had reason to ignore it.

From the anchorage to the city of Ega is about four ancient miles.There were six men in the canoe, plus two slaves rowing.It takes eight Guli to come and go, and it takes several hours to walk.Although there is a layer of light clouds in the sky, the temperature is still too high to make people feel tired. Luckily, a cool breeze from the northwest meant it was possible to sail downwind on Lake Tefi as long as the wind stayed the same.Eggar could be reached quickly without even tacking, and the return journey would be equally swift. Latin sails were hoisted from the masts of the boats.With Benito at the helm, Lina signaled Fragoso to keep a close watch on Torres one last time, and the boat set sail.

Ega can be reached by sailing along the lake's angular shores.Two hours later, the boat moored at the port.Ega used to be a missionary station built by the Carmelites. It became a city in 1719, and it was completely owned by Brazil by General Gama. They disembarked near a flat sandy place.There are not only a few local ships moored here, but also several twenty-two-masted schooners, which will sail along the Atlantic coast. When the two girls entered the city of Ega, they were amazed. "Oh! This city is really big!" Mina exclaimed. "So many houses! So many people!" Lina sighed, opening her eyes wide to see better.

"I feel the same way," Benito said with a smile. "More than 1,500 residents, more than 200 houses, including several buildings, two or three streets, real streets, separating the houses!" "Dear Manoel," Mina said, "be careful with my brother! He is laughing at us, because he has been to some of the prettier cities in Amazonas and Pará!" "Then he'll have to laugh at his mother too," Yaquita went on, "because I must admit I've never seen such a beautiful place!" "Then take care, mother, little sister," said Benito, "for you will be ecstatic if you reach Manao, and faint if you reach Belem!"

"Don't worry!" Manoel said with a smile. "After visiting a few cities in the upper Amazon region, they will gradually get used to what these people admire today." "Why, you too, Manoel," said Mina, "you talk like my brother? Are you laughing at us too?" "No, Mina! I swear." "Let these gentlemen laugh!" said Lina. "Look, madam, how beautiful these buildings are!" It is indeed very beautiful!The houses in this neighborhood are either of earth or whitewashed, most of them covered with thatch or palm fronds, and in the middle of a small orange-blossoming orchard there are a few stone and The doors and shutters were painted a stark green.There are also two or three civilian buildings, a barracks and a church dedicated to St. Thales, which is a cathedral compared to the chapel in Iquitos.

Then, looking back at Lake Tefi, you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery.Around the lake, there are patches of cocoa forest and Asayi forest. The trees are reflected in the water, and the level is like a mirror. Three miles away from the opposite bank is the picturesque Nogaia village. You can vaguely see the ancient village hidden on the sand in the village. cottages among the olive groves. There was another thing that astonished the two girls, and it was a woman's surprise: the elegant and beautiful dress of the women of Ega, not the primitive attire of the Indian women of Omas or Milas, but Real Brazilian women's dress up!Indeed, the attire and attire of the wives and daughters of the rich and powerful in the city imitated Parisian fashion, which was a little outdated and artificial.It is more than five hundred miles from Pala, and Pala is thousands of miles away from Paris.

"Look, ma'am, look, how beautiful the dresses of these fair ladies are!" "Lina is going crazy!" cried Benito. "The costumes wouldn't be so ridiculous if they were worn properly!" Mina said. "My dear Mina," said Manoel, "even in your plain cotton dress and straw hat, you look better and better than these Brazilian women with their bonnets and frilly skirts. This attire Neither their country nor their nation!" "If you like me dressed like this," Mina said, "then there's no one I should envy!" But since it's here, let's take a look.They wandered the streets and saw more stalls than shops; they went to the square for a walk and met many gentlemen and ladies whose European attire was really suffocating; they still had a restaurant (barely called Lunch was served in the restaurant) whose cooking was so strongly reminiscent of the good home-cooked meals on the great raft.

The meals are all turtle meat cooked in various ways.after dinner.The Galar family came to the lake for the last time to enjoy the beautiful scenery, but the afterglow of the setting sun cast the lake surface into gold; then, everyone returned to the canoe, a little disappointed with the city that could be visited in only one hour, it Far less gorgeous than imagined, and tiring to walk in the hot streets, these streets are not as beautiful as the tree-covered paths of Iquitos.But Lina, who was curious, was not the same. She was no less interested than when she came. Everyone took their places on the boat.The wind is still northwest, and it cools down as night falls.The boat set off.They returned by the way they had come in the morning, fed by the black lake of Tefi.According to the old Indians, the southwestern direction of Tefe Lake is navigable, and it takes 40 days to travel.At 8 o'clock in the evening, the boat came back to mooring and leaned against the big raft. Lina pulled Fragosso aside and asked impatiently: "Mr. Fragoso, have you noticed anything suspicious?" "Nothing, Miss Lina," replied Fragoso, "Torres has been staying in the room reading, and has not left a step." "Did he not come into the master's room or the dining room? That's what worries me." "No, all the time he was away from the house he was walking about the bow." "What did he do on his walk?" "He held an old piece of paper in his hand, looked at it carefully, and muttered some inexplicable words." "Perhaps these are not so insignificant as you think, Monsieur Fragoso! What he read, what he wrote, and this old paper may all be famous for! The man who read and wrote is neither a professor nor a jurist." !" "You are right!" "Let us continue to keep an eye on him, Mr. Fragoso." "Watch him together forever, Miss Lina," Fragoso said. The next day, July 7, as soon as the sun rose, Benito instructed the pilot to set sail. Passing between two small islands in the Bay of Arnabe, the mouth of the Gabra River, 6,600 feet wide, was clearly visible for a while.This important tributary flows into the Amazon through eight estuaries, as if into some ocean or bay.The river rushes down from the high mountains of the distant Republic of Ecuador, and joins some waterfalls at a distance of two hundred and ten miles from the main river. All day long the raft sailed towards Abra Island, beyond which the river became clear and easier to navigate.The slowness of the current allowed the raft to avoid some small islands with ease, so that there was never a collision or grounding. The next day, the big raft sailed across the vast river beaches.The river beach is covered with undulating sand dunes, and between the sand dunes, there are patches of vast pastures, enough to feed livestock all over Europe.This beach is home to the largest number of turtles in the Upper Amazon. On the night of July 29, the big raft docked steadily on the edge of Kathu Island.Everyone planned to spend the night here, because it was very dark. On this island, as soon as the sun rises on the horizon, there is a group of Mullah Indians.They are descendants of the ancient and powerful Mula tribe.In the past, this tribe once occupied more than 100 acres of beach between the Tefe River and the Matai River. The group of Indians walked up and down, observing the raft which had been drifting and now stopped.There are only more than 100 of them, and everyone has a long blowpipe, which is made of a unique local reed. In order to make it strong, the trunk of a dwarf palm tree is pumped out of the sap to make a cover on it. Joam Gallal laid down the work which took up all his time, and told everyone to be careful not to offend the Indians.Because of the disparity in strength between the two sides.Mulla people are extremely flexible, and can blow out sharp arrows with a long blowpipe three hundred steps away, killing people. Because these arrows are made of the leaves of a palm tree called "Gulalit", wrapped in cotton, ten inches long, sharp as needles, and soaked in "Gulal" poisonous juice. "Gulal" is also known as "Ula". According to the Indians, this liquid can poison all living things.It is made by mixing the sap of a large Chao family plant, bulbous nuxychon sap, viper pulp and viper hook tooth juice. "It is a dreadful poison indeed," said Manoel, "which invades directly the nervous system which controls the will. But the heart is unaffected, and it beats until the other vital organs cease. However, There is no antidote to this limb-numbing venom that comes up." Fortunately, this group of Ramu showed no hostility, although they harbored a deep-rooted hatred for white people.They are indeed different from their ancestors. When night fell, a five-hole flute played several small tunes in the bushes behind the island, and the other flute responded immediately. This kind of communication with music lasted for two or three minutes, and then the Mulla people went to disappeared without a trace. Fragoso, on a whim, wanted to answer them with a song, but Lina covered his mouth just in time to prevent him from showing off, although he would have loved it. On August 2, at 3 o'clock in the night, the big raft reached the mouth of Lake Aber Yarra, twenty miles away, and the black water of the lake poured into the river of the same name.Two days later, around five o'clock, the big raft reached the mouth of Lake Koyari. Lake Koyari is one of several large lakes connected to the Amazon River.It is also a reservoir for several rivers.Five or six tributaries feed into the lake, where the water is stored and mixed, and a narrow channel connects it with the Amazon. The big raft was docked near the village of Taroua Miri, ready to spend the night.In order to prevent floods, the huts in the village are built on piles like stilts.When the water is high, the river often floods this low and flat beach. The big raft anchored by the village of Koyari.A dozen dilapidated thatched huts are hidden among the dense orange trees and gourd vines. With the rise and fall of the lake, the lake is sometimes wide and boundless, and sometimes narrow and difficult, like a shallow canal, making it impossible for ships to navigate to the Amazon River.As a result, the appearance of the small village has changed a lot. In the early morning of the next day, August 5, the big raft set off again in the morning light.Pass the Yugula Canal, which also belongs to this intricate system of waterways made up of numerous lakes and tributaries of the Zabra River. On the morning of August 6, the big raft came to the mouth of Lake Miwinayo. Before that, nothing new happened on board, and life was as usual and orderly. Under Lina's urging, Fragoso has not relaxed his surveillance on Torres.On several occasions he tried to urge him to tell stories of the past; but the adventurer skilfully avoided such subjects, and kept his mouth shut about the barber. His relationship with the Gallards remained unchanged.Although he rarely spoke to Joam, he was willing to chat with Yaquita and Mina.He seemed completely oblivious to the two's apparent indifference to him.The mother and daughter reassured each other that in Manao, Torres would have to go, and then he would never be heard of again.In this matter, Jacquita followed Father Passana's advice and resolved to endure it for the time being; but it was much more difficult for the good priest to persuade Manoel, who was bent on getting rid of this annoying intruder. Boom down the big raft, The only thing that happened this evening was this: A small boat coming down the river stopped near the raft at the request of Joam Galar. "Are you going to Manao?" he asked the Indian in the boat. "Yes." replied the Indian. "When will you get there?" "Eight days later." "Then you'll be here before us. Can you post a letter for me?" "Ready to serve." "Take this letter, my friend, and take it to Manao." The Indian accepted the letter from Joam Garral, and was rewarded with a handful of ris. The rest of the family stayed inside and no one knew about it except Torres.He even overheard a few words of conversation between Joam and the Indian, and his sullen countenance clearly showed how surprised he was by sending the letter.