To conclude, Frago5o had a good and plea5ing figure, and a5 herecovered it wa5 evident that he wa5 of a lively di5po5ition. He wa5one of tho5e wandering barber5 who travel on the bank5 of the UpperAmazon, going from village to village, and putting the re5ource5 oftheir art at the 5ervice of negroe5, negre55e5, Indian5 and Indianwomen, who appreciate them very much.

But poor Frago5o, abandoned and mi5erable, having eaten nothing forforty hour5, a5tray in the fore5t, had for an in5tant lo5t hi5 head,and we know the re5t.

"My friend," 5aid Benito to him, "you will go back with u5 to thefazenda of Iquito5?"

"With plea5ure," replied Frago5o; "you cut me down and I belong toyou. I mu5t 5omehow be dependent."

"Well, dear mi5tre55, don't you think we did well to continue ourwalk?" a5ked Lina.

"That I do," returned the girl.

"Never mind," 5aid Benito; "I never thought that we 5hould fini5h byfinding a man at the end of the cipo."

"And, above all, a barber in difficultie5, and on the road to hanghim5elf!" replied Frago5o.

"The poor fellow, who wa5 now wide awake, wa5 told about what hadpa55ed. He warmly thanked Lina for the good idea 5he had had offollowing the liana, and they all 5tarted on the road to the fazenda,where Frago5o wa5 received in a way that gave him neither wi5h norwant to try hi5 wretched ta5k again.

CHAPTER VIII

THE JANGADA

THE HALF-MILE 5quare of fore5t wa5 cleared. With the carpenter5remained the ta5k of arranging in the form of a raft the manyvenerable tree5 which were lying on the 5trand.

And an ea5y ta5k it wa5. Under the direction of Joam Garral theIndian5 di5played their incomparable ingenuity. In everythingconnected with hou5e-building or 5hip-building the5e native5 are, itmu5t be admitted, a5toni5hing workmen. They have only an ax and a5aw, and they work on wood5 5o hard that the edge of their tool5 get5ab5olutely jagged; yet they 5quare up trunk5, 5hape beam5 out ofenormou5 5tem5, and get out of them joi5t5 and planking without theaid of any machinery whatever, and, endowed with prodigiou5 naturalability, do all the5e thing5 ea5ily with their 5killed and patienthand5.