ic._
"Confound the document and him who imagined it!" shouted Jarriquez,
throwing down the paper, which was wafted to the other side of the
room. "It would try the patience of a saint!"
But the short burst of anger passed away, and the magistrate, who had
no idea of being beaten, picked up the paper. What he had done with
the first letters of the different paragraphs he did with the
last--and to no purpose. Then he tried everything his excited
imagination could suggest.
He tried in succession the numbers which represented Dacosta's age,
which would have been known to the author of the crime, the date of
his arrest, the date of the sentence at the Villa Rica assizes, the
date fixed for the execution, etc., etc., even the number of victims
at the affray at Tijuco!
Nothing! All the time nothing!
Judge Jarriquez had worked himself into such a state of exasperation
that there really was some fear that his mental faculties would lose
their balance. He jumped about, and twisted about, and wrestled about
as if he really had got hold of his enemy's body.
Pages:
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424