Chapter 36 Chapter 16 Arranging Deployment

The next day, August 30, Benito and Manoel conferred.They got the idea that the judge didn't want to say in front of them.They are now trying to get the condemned prisoner out of prison who is about to be executed. There is no other choice. Because, the situation couldn't be clearer. For the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, the incomprehensible document has no value, it may be just a piece of waste paper, and the first trial has already declared Joam D'Acosta as Tijuca. The culprit in the murder case, so the sentence will not be changed in the end, so the execution order must be issued, because, in this case, there is no possibility of commutation.

So, again, Joam D'Acosta should run away without hesitation, to avoid the unjust sentence against him. The two young men first agreed to keep their plans of action a secret; Judge Jarry Gates and Mina would not know their intentions.Their last hope may not come true!Who knows if something unexpected will happen to make their escape fail miserably? At a time like this, perhaps Fragoso would have been fine.This shrewd and faithful lad was sure to be of great help to the two young men; but Fragoso never reappeared.Ask Lina, and she can't tell what he did, or why he left the raft without a word.

Of course, if Fragoso could have foreseen that things would develop to this point, he would not have taken such a seemingly insignificant action without the D'Acosta family!yes!Instead of going to Torres' accomplices, it is better to help the prisoner escape from prison! But Fragoso was not there, so no help was expected from him. At daybreak, Benito and Manoel left the raft and went straight to Manao.They were in the city in no time, passing through the narrow streets, which were still deserted, and a few minutes later they were at the gate of the prison. The detention facility here was formerly a monastery.

The layout of the place requires extra careful study. In one corner of the prison, at a height of twenty-five feet above the ground, there was a window, the very same bar that closed D'Acosta.The iron bars over the windows were not very strong, and could easily be taken down, or sawn through, if one could climb on them.The stones on the wall were not well laid, weathered in many places, and there were many protrusions, and if one could climb up by hanging on a rope, one's feet could stand firmly on it.One of the iron bars on the fence was out of joint and formed a hook, pointing outwards, where the rope, if it had been cast well, might just fit around it.In this way, by pulling out one or two iron bars, just enough for one person to pass through, Benito and Manoel can sneak into the prisoner's cell, and the prisoner will escape without much difficulty by means of the rope tied to the iron window.At night, when the sky was dark, one could move without being noticed, and Joam D'Acosta would be able to escape safely before dawn.

Manoel and Benito wandered up and down for an hour, trying not to attract attention, making exact measurements, whether it was the condition of the windows, the layout of the bars, or the best place to throw the rope. "That's it," said Manoel. "Would you like to tell Joam D'Acosta in advance?" "No, Manoel! Keep it a secret from my mother, as well as from him, our operation may fail!" "We will succeed, Benito!" Manoel replied, "but everything must be expected. If the warden finds out during the escape..." "We will buy this man at all costs," replied Benito.

"Very well," replied Manoel, "but once our father escapes from prison, he cannot hide in the city, nor on a raft. Where shall he hide?" This is the second question to be addressed, this one is important, why? A hundred paces from the prison, a canal ran through the open country and emptied into the Rio Negro at the foot of the town.The canal was a shortcut to the Rio Negro as long as there was a canoe waiting for the escapees.It's just a hundred steps from the corner to the canal. Therefore, Benito and Manoel decided that at around eight o'clock in the evening, Arrojo and two strong boatmen would drive a small boat from the big raft, go upstream along the Rio Negro, enter the canal, and dive into the canal. The wilderness, hidden in the grass on the shore, waits all night for the prisoners to use.

But, on board, where should Joam D'Acosta hide? This was the last problem that the two young people had to solve after carefully weighing the pros and cons. Going back to Iquitos will be full of difficulties and obstacles along the way.Whether it's across the fields, down or up the Amazon, it's a long way.Neither riding a horse nor taking a boat could make him escape quickly from danger.Moreover, the manor is no longer his safe hermitage. When he returns to the manor, he will no longer be the owner of the manor Joam Galar, but the death row prisoner Joam Dacosta, who may be arrested at any time. Without the risk of extradition, he would never be able to live his old life there again.

Escape to the north of the province through the Negro River, and even escape from the territory of Brazil. This plan requires more time. Joam Da Costa does not have that much time. The first thing he needs to consider is how to escape the current hunt . Down the Amazon again?There are post offices, villages and cities on both sides of the river.The chiefs of police will be notified of the features of the prisoner, so arrests may be made before reaching the Atlantic shore.Even if he succeeded in absconding, where and how did he hide to wait for the opportunity to board a boat and cross the sea, leaving a vast ocean between him and the bailiff.

Benito and Manoel pored over these different plans, concluding that none of them worked.There was only one way that Joam D'Acosta might be saved. The method is: after you escape from the prison, take a canoe, follow the canal to the Rio Negro, and the helmsman steers the boat down this tributary to the confluence of the two rivers, and then floats sixty feet along the right bank of the Amazon River. Walking at night and resting during the day, this has reached the mouth of the Madeira River. This tributary flows down the slopes of Mount Corti, and is joined by a hundred small tributaries along the way. It is a veritable navigable waterway leading directly to the heart of Bolivia.Therefore, if a small boat takes the risk of taking this river, it can hide in a town or village outside Brazil without anyone noticing.

Joam D'Acosta would be safer there; if need be, he could stay there for a few months, waiting for an opportunity to go to the Pacific coast, and board a sailing ship in some port.As long as the ship can take him to a country in North America, he will be saved, and then it will depend on whether to reorganize the family business, live abroad forever, on the other side of the ocean, in the old world, and spend the rest of his life in the old world. Such an unfair, turbulent life. No matter where he went, his family followed him without hesitation and without hesitation, including Manoel, with whom he had become inseparable.This is already self-evident.

"Let us go," said Benito, "to get everything ready before nightfall, and we must not lose a moment." The two young men walked along the banks of the canal as far as the Rio Negro and returned to the boat.That way they could be sure that the canals would sail unhindered, not by the locks or boats moored in the river for repairs.Then they descended the left bank of the tributary, avoiding the streets of the town which were already beginning to come and go, and returned to the anchorage of the great raft. Benito's first thought was to see his mother.He felt that he could hold it, that he could hide his extreme anxiety.He wanted to reassure his mother, to tell her that there was hope, that the secrets of the documents were about to be unraveled, that in any case public opinion was on Joam D'Acosta's side, and that as soon as the masses rose to support Joam D'Acosta Da Costa, the court will allow enough time to find physical evidence to prove his innocence. "Yes, mother, yes!" he added, "maybe we won't have to worry about our father until tomorrow!" "May God hear you! My son!" replied Iacquita, her eyes so full of doubt that Benito could hardly look her in the face. On his part, Manoel, as if he had discussed it with Benito, tried to reassure Mina, telling her repeatedly that Judge Jarry Gates insisted that Joam D'Acosta was innocent, and that he would Do everything possible within the scope of authority to preserve Joam Dacosta. "I would like to believe you, Manoel," said the girl, tears streaming down her face. Manoel hurriedly left Mina, his eyes were about to burst into tears, almost giving away his hopeful words just now! When it was time to visit the prison every day, Yaquita, accompanied by her daughter, rushed to Manao. The two young men talked for an hour with the helmsman Aloruo.They told the whole plan, that is, the escape plan, and the aftermath measures that should be taken to ensure the safety of the fugitives after the escape, and listened to his opinions. Aloruo agrees with their overall plan.He was in charge of paddling the canoe across the canal after nightfall, out of sight and out of sight, to the place where Joam da Costa was waiting, and he knew it all well.Then it was easy to get back to the mouth of the Rio Negro, and the canoes would go undetected among the boats that kept going downriver. As for the plan to escape along the Amazon River to the mouth of the Madeira River, Aroro did not raise any objections.He also agreed with the idea that there was no better way.He was familiar with the stretch of river within more than a hundred miles of Madeira.In these inaccessible provinces, if anyone pursued in this direction, he could easily be caught by hiding as far as the center of Bolivia, and if Joam D'Acosta had the idea of ​​​​living abroad, he would easily miss him. It is safer to embark on the Pacific coast than on the Atlantic coast. Aroruo agreed with the whole plan very much, and the two young men were relieved. The helmsman was well-informed, and of course he won the trust of the two.And as to the fidelity and reliability of this upright man, this is even more indisputable.In order to rescue the owner of the Iquitos manor, even if he went through fire and water, he would not hesitate. Aruo Ruo immediately started to prepare for the escape operation, and did a good job of keeping it secret.Benito gave him a large sum of gold coins in case of any accident during the journey on the Madeira River.Then he sent for the canoes, under the pretense of going to Fragoso, who had never been seen, and whose companions had every reason to be anxious about his fate. Aroruo personally prepared food for several days on the boat, as well as ropes and tools. When the boat went to the end of the canal at the agreed time, two young men would come to take the ropes and tools away. These preparations did not attract the attention of those on the great raft.The helmsman chose two strong black men as sailors. Even they didn't know what they were going to do, but they could still be absolutely trusted.Aloruo understood that when they knew what kind of rescue work they were about to do, and when Joam D'Acosta was finally freed and entrusted to their care, they were fearless people, and they would even go to any lengths. Sacrifice their lives to save their masters. In the afternoon, everything is ready for departure.Just waiting for night to fall. But before acting, Manoel wanted to see Judge Jarry Gates one last time.Maybe the judge would have something new to tell him about the papers. As for Benito, he preferred to remain on the raft until his mother and sister returned. So Manoel went alone to the home of Judge Jarigates, who immediately received him. The judge never left his study, and was busy, feverishly, and wretchedly miserable.The document had been crumpled impatiently by his fingers, and it was always spread out on the table, before his eyes. "Sir," Manoel asked him in a trembling voice, "you have received from Rio..." "Not yet..." Judge Jarry Gates replied, "the order hasn't arrived...but it could be anytime!..." "What happened to the file?" "Nothing!" sighed Judge Jarry Gates. "Everything I can think of . . . tried . . . and still nothing!" "No results!" "No, not quite, I clearly see one word in the document... only one word!..." "Which word?" cried Manoel, "monsieur . . . what word?" "escape!" Without saying a word, Manoel firmly shook the hand offered by Judge Jarrigates, and hurried back to the raft to wait for the moment to act.