Chapter 17 Chapter 17 An Attack

To avoid a row on board, Manoel said nothing about Torres, but, the next day, he decided to speak to Benito. He pulled Benito to the bow and said to him: "Benito, I need to talk to you." Benito smiled as usual, stopped to look at Manoel, his face gradually darkened. "I know what you're trying to say, is it about Torres?" he asked. "Yes, Benito!" "Great, I was just about to talk to you about that too." "Did you notice how attentive he was to Mina?" Manoel asked palely. "Oh, it's not jealousy that makes you hate him?" cried Benito.

"Of course not," returned Manoel, "God forbid I should insult a girl who is to be my wife like this! No, Benito! She hates the adventurer too, though I don't want to do it because of it." Hate him, but it disgusts me to see this guy keep showing up around your mother and sister, being courteous, trying to get close to your family, which is mine!" "Manoel," said Benito seriously, "I hate this suspicious fellow as much as you do. If I had acted on my feelings, I would have driven this Torres off the raft long ago! But I dare not!" "Don't you dare?" Manoel said, grabbing his friend's hand: "How dare you!"

"Listen, Manoel," continued Benito, "you have watched Torres carefully, haven't you? You have seen that he is very attentive to my sister! It is true! But that is all you notice." , but I didn't see that this worrying guy had been closely monitoring my father. His eyes never left my father's side for a moment. His eyes were very stubborn and incomprehensible, as if there was some kind of ulterior hatred hidden in his heart! " "What are you talking about, Benito? What reason do you have for thinking that Torres has a grudge against Joam Gallard?"

"There's no reason...it's not an idea!" said Benito, "it's a hunch! Watch Torres carefully, study his facial expressions, and you'll see that when he looks at my father , with what kind of vicious smirk!" "By God," cried Manoel, "if that's the case, Benito, we have yet another reason to drive him away." "One more reason...and one less reason...," said Benito, "Manoel, I'm afraid...what?...I don't know...but forcing my father to drive Torres away... I'm afraid it's not safe! Tell you again... I'm scared, I don't know why I feel this way, nothing can explain it to me!"

Benito trembled with rage as he said these words. "So," said Manoel, "do you think we should wait?" "Yes...we should wait patiently before making a decision, but we should be careful!" "Anyway," said Manoel, "we'll be in Manao in twenty days or so. Torres is going to stop there, he'll leave us there, and we'll get rid of this fellow forever! Until then , we must closely monitor him!" "You see what I mean, Manoel," said Benito. "Yes, we are friends and brothers!" said Manoel, "though I do not and cannot share all your fears! What is the connection between your father and this adventurer? Evidently your father never Never seen him!"

"Of course my father doesn't know Torres," said Benito, "but... Torres seems to know my father!... What was he doing near the estate when we met him in the forest of Iquitos? Why did he Rejected our invitation at the time? Otherwise, wouldn’t it be logical to become our traveling companion? We arrived in Tabatinga, and he was there, as if waiting for us! These unexpected encounters were just coincidences, or were they planned in advance? Okay? When I saw Torres' evasive, stubborn eyes, I couldn't help but think of these!... I don't know... These inexplicable things always haunt me and can't get rid of them! Oh! I Why did you take the initiative to invite him to ride on the big raft!"

"Calm down, Benito... I beg you to be calm!" "Manoel!" exclaimed Benito, who seemed unable to control his emotions, "would I not throw him overboard at once if this odious fellow came after me? But in case He's targeting my father, and I'm worried that sentiment will backfire! My gut tells me that it's dangerous to do something about this sneaky guy until we have real evidence! Anyway, as long as he's on the big raft, he's on our In our hands, as long as we keep a close watch around my father, we can force him to tear off his mask and reveal his true colors when he is mischievous! Therefore, we have to endure for a while!"

Torres came to the bow, and the two young men stopped talking.Torres glanced at them a few times, but did not speak to them. Benito was not mistaken, and the adventurer's eyes were fixed on Joam Galar whenever no one was looking. Benito's feeling was right, and he noticed that Torres' face would darken every time he looked at his father.This further confirmed his idea. What is the mysterious bond that connects the two men?One of them is so noble and knows nothing about it. Now, Torres is under the surveillance of two young men, Fragoso and Lina, at the same time. In this situation, it is difficult for him to act without being suppressed.Perhaps, he also understands this.But he didn't show it, and he behaved as usual.

After the conversation, Manoel and Benito were very satisfied, and they decided to monitor Torres and not take any action for the time being, so as not to alarm the enemy. In the next few days, the big raft passed the mouth of the Kamala River, the Aru River, and the Uripari River on the right bank of the river. These rivers did not directly flow into the Amazon River, but flowed southward and into the The Puru River, through it, empties into the Amazon River. On August 10th, at five o'clock in the evening, the big raft anchored at Cocos Island. There is a Serangai glue workshop on the island.This is a workshop for refining rubber. Its name comes from a tree called "Serangela", whose scientific name is "Sifonia Eratica".

It is said that due to negligence or random mining, this tree has been greatly reduced in the Amazon River area, but there are still a large number of Serangela trees on the banks of the Madeira River, Puru River and other tributaries of the Amazon River. In the workshop, there are more than 20 Indians collecting and refining rubber. This kind of activity is usually carried out in May, June, and July. When the Amazon River swells, the water will reach the height of the trunk of the rubber tree 4 feet high.After the river water fully infiltrated the rubber trees, the Indians began to collect them at the right time.

A few openings are made in the trunk, and a small pot is fastened under the opening. Within twenty-four hours, the pot will be filled with milky sap.It can also be harvested by placing a hollow bamboo tube or other container at the foot of a tree. After collection, in order to prevent the separation of the resin molecules, the Indians used Acai palm trees to light a fire to smoke the glue, and dangled the wooden shovel containing the glue in the smoke, and the glue quickly coagulated , it turned gray-yellow and became more and more solid.The cured rubber was peeled off the shovel in layers, and after drying in the sun, they turned brown and became harder.At this point, the production process is over. Benito seized this golden opportunity and bought all the rubber that the Indians had stored upstairs.The price he offered was sufficient to compensate them for their labour, and the Indians were quite satisfied. Four days later, on August 14, the great raft crossed the mouth of the River Prussia. The Purus River is also an important tributary on the right bank of the Amazon River. There are more than 500 miles of waterways that can be navigated, even by large ships.It flows from the southwest, and its mouth is about four thousand feet wide.The banks are densely planted with fig trees, Tamin Ali trees, "Nipas" palms and Secrobia trees, and finally, it divides into five tributaries and empties into the Amazon River. On this river, the driver Aloruo can drive the boat as he pleases.Because there are fewer islands blocked in the river than in other places, and the river is at least 8 kilometers wide. The river pushed the big raft forward at a constant speed. On August 18, the big raft docked at the village of Pescoro, where it was going to spend the night. The sun was almost falling to the horizon, and at low latitudes, it sank very fast, falling almost vertically, like a huge bolide.After day comes night, almost without dusk, just like night comes when the footlights in front of the stage suddenly go out during a play. Joam Gallard was standing in front of the house with his wife, Lina, and old Siebel. Torres wandered around Joam for a while, as if he wanted to talk to him. At this moment, Father Passana came to say good night to Joam's family. Perhaps the presence of the priest hindered him, so he retreated to his room. inside. Indians and Negroes lay in their respective posts on the deck.Aloruo sat in the bow, studying the straight and flowing current. On the surface, Manoel and Benito, who were staring at each other, chatted, smoked, walked in the center of the boat, and waited to go to bed. Suddenly Manoel caught Benito and said: "What kind of strange smell is this? Did I make a mistake? Didn't you smell it?...It seems to be..." "It smells like heated musk!" said Benito. "There must be a big crocodile sleeping on the nearby beach!" "Thanks to nature for exposing them!" "Yes," Benito said, "we are lucky because this animal is very scary." These lizard-like animals generally like to lie on the beach at dusk, where they can spend the night more comfortably.They generally enter the burrow backwards, and when they sleep, they curl up at the mouth of the burrow with their mouths open and their mandibles erect, except when waiting and watching for prey.For these amphibians, it is easy for them to swim rapidly with their tails as motors in the water, or gallop at human speed in the sand, so that they can quickly catch their prey. On this vast sandy land, crocodiles are born, grow, and die, and some can live for a long time. The old crocodiles that are more than a hundred years old are not only covered with green moss and warts on their carapaces, but also become more and more ferocious.As Benito said, the animals are terrifying and one should beware of their attacks. Suddenly, a shout came from the bow: "Alligator! Alligator!" Manoel and Benito got up and watched. Three crocodiles, fifteen to twenty feet long, had climbed onto the deck of the raft. "Shoot! Shoot!" Benito yelled, signaling the Indians and blacks to back off. "Go into the house!" said Manoel, "that's more important!" Indeed, since you cannot fight a crocodile directly, the best way is to find a hiding place first. In an instant, everyone hid in the house.The Galar family hid in the house, and after a while, the two young men rushed over.Indians and blacks also hid in their rooms. When the door was closing, Manoel asked: "Where's Mina?" "She's not in the house!" said Lina, who had just come running from Mina's room. "My God! Where is she?" Yaquita cried. All shouted at the same time: "Mina! Mina!" No one answered. "Will she be in the bow, then?" asked Benito. "Mina!" cried Manoel. The two young men, Fragoso and Joam Gallar, rushed out of the house with guns in their hands, regardless of the danger. As soon as they got outside, the two crocodiles turned and rushed towards them. Benito raised his gun and fired, hitting one of the crocodiles near the eye, a fatal shot, which fell to the deck, convulsing violently. But the second one had come close, and there was nowhere to hide. The crocodile actually sprang at Joam Galar, knocked him down with its tail, opened its mouth wide, and pounced on him. At this moment, Torres rushed out of the house, holding a sharp ax in his hand, and slashed at the crocodile. The ax pierced into its mouth with perfect precision, so deep that it could not be pulled out, and the blood splashed out covered the animal. The eye of the animal, it rushed to the side, whether it was intentional or not, it plunged into the river and disappeared without a trace. "Mina! Mina!" shouted the panic-stricken Manoel as he came to the bow. Suddenly the girl appeared, and at first she fled into Aloro's house; but the third crocodile overturned her with all her might, and now Mina was running towards the stern, with the crocodile in hot pursuit, only 6 feet away. Mina fell down. Benito fired another shot, but it didn't stop the crocodile!The bullet only grazed its carapace and shattered the scales, but did not hurt the body. Manoel ran to the girl, trying to pick her up, lead her away, and take her back from death! ... The crocodile's tail swept across and knocked her to the ground. Mina passed out and was in danger. The crocodile opened its mouth wide, ready to devour her! ... At this moment, Fragoso jumped towards the crocodile and pierced its throat with a dagger. If the crocodile suddenly shut its mouth at this moment, his arm would definitely be bitten off. It was a very close call! Fragoso withdrew his arm in time, but he couldn't avoid the crocodile's impact and was brought into the river by it, and the river immediately turned red. "Fragoso! Fragosso!" cried Lina, kneeling on the raft. After a while, Fragoso surfaced...he was safe and sound. Mina has woken up.Manoel, Yaquita, Mina, and Lina stretched out their hands to Fragoso, who was desperately saving lives, and he didn't know which one to pull.Finally, he took the half-race girl's hand. Fragoso saves Mina's life, while Torres saves Joam Galar. It seemed that the adventurer did not want to take the manor owner's life.In the face of this obvious fact, it must be admitted. Manoel pointed this out to Benito in a low voice. "Yes!" said Benito awkwardly, "you are right, and this relieves me of my worries! But, Manoel, my doubts have not been dispelled! Sworn enemies are not necessarily You must take your life!" Joam Galar approached Torres. "Thanks, Torres," he said, holding out his hand. The adventurer took a few steps back without saying a word. "Torres," continued Joam, "I regret that your trip is coming to an end, and in a few days we shall part! I owe you..." "Joam Galar," said Torres, "you owe me nothing! Your life is dear to me! But if you agree... I have thought about it... I will not stop at Manao, I'm going all the way to Belem. Can you give me a ride a little longer?" Joam Galar agreed. Hearing this request, Benito almost protested; but Manoel stopped him, and the young man made an effort to control himself.