Ah! there have been some rare finds there, not only for the
climbers who seek the precious stone up to the very tops of the
mountains, but also for the smugglers who fraudulently export it. But
the work in the mines is not so pleasant, and the two thousand
negroes employed in that work by the government are obliged even to
divert the watercourses to get at the diamantiferous sand. Formerly
it was easier work."
"In short," said Fragoso, "the good time has gone!"
"But what is still easy is to get the diamonds in
scoundrel-fashion--that is, by theft; and--stop! in 1826, when I was
about eight years old, a terrible drama happened at Tijuco, which
showed that criminal would recoil from nothing if they could gain a
fortune by one bold stroke. But perhaps you are not interested?"
"On the contrary, Torres; go on," replied Joam Garral, in a
singularly calm voice.
"So be it," answered Torres. "Well, the story is about stealing
diamonds, and a handful of those pretty stones is worth a million,
sometimes two!"
And Torres, whose face expressed the vilest sentiments of cupidity,
almost unconsciously made a gesture of opening and shutting his hand.
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