Again he was in thought back at Iquitos.
There the old fazender was dying; before his end he longed for the
future of his daughter to be assured, for his partner to be the sole
master of the settlement which had grown so prosperous under his
management. Should Dacosta have spoken then? Perhaps; but he dared
not do it. He again lived the happy days he had spent with Yaquita,
and again thought of the birth of his children, again felt the
happiness which had its only trouble in the remembrances of Tijuco
and the remorse that he had not confessed his terrible secret.
The chain of events was reproduced in Joam's mind with a clearness
and completeness quite remarkable.
And now he was thinking of the day when his daughter's marriage with
Manoel had been decided. Could he allow that union to take place
under a false name without acquainting the lad with the mystery of
his life? No! And so at the advice of Judge Ribeiro he resolved to
come and claim the revision of his sentence, to demand the
rehabilitation which was his due! He was starting with his people,
and then came the intervention of Torres, the detestable bargain
proposed by the scoundrel, the indignant refusal of the father to
hand over his daughter to save his honor and his life, and then the
denunciation and the arrest!
Suddenly the window flew open with a violent push from without.
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