"One moment, Benito," he said; and then, turning to the men on the
raft who did not belong to the jangada, and whose evidence could not
be suspected at any future time:
"Just take note, my friends," he said, "of what we are doing here, so
that you can relate before the magistrate what has passed."
The men came up to the pirogue.
Fragoso undid the belt which encircled the body of Torres underneath
the torn poncho, and feeling his breast-pocket, exclaimed:
"The case!"
A cry of joy escaped from Benito. He stretched forward to seize the
case, to make sure than it contained----
"No!" again interrupted Manoel, whose coolness did not forsake him.
"It is necessary that not the slightest possible doubt should exist
in the mind of the magistrate! It is better that disinterested
witnesses should affirm that this case was really found on the corpse
of Torres!"
"You are right," replied Benito.
"My friend," said Manoel to the foreman of the raft, "just feel in
the pocket of the waistcoat."
The foreman obeyed. He drew forth a metal case, with the cover
screwed on, and which seemed to have suffered in no way from its
sojourn in the water.
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