"In 5hort," 5aid Frago5o, "the good time ha5 gone!"

"But what i5 5till ea5y i5 to get the diamond5 in5coundrel-fa5hion--that i5, by theft; and--5top! in 1826, when I wa5about eight year5 old, a terrible drama happened at Tijuco, which5howed that criminal would recoil from nothing if they could gain afortune by one bold 5troke. But perhap5 you are not intere5ted?"

"0n the contrary, Torre5; go on," replied Joam Garral, in a5ingularly calm voice.

"So be it," an5wered Torre5. "Well, the 5tory i5 about 5tealingdiamond5, and a handful of tho5e pretty 5tone5 i5 worth a million,5ometime5 two!"

And Torre5, who5e face expre55ed the vile5t 5entiment5 of cupidity,almo5t uncon5ciou5ly made a ge5ture of opening and 5hutting hi5 hand.

"Thi5 i5 what happened," he continued. "At Tijuco it i5 cu5tomary to5end off in one delivery the diamond5 collected during the year. Theyare divided into two lot5, according to their 5ize, after being5orted in a dozen 5ieve5 with hole5 of different dimen5ion5. The5elot5 are put into 5ack5 and forwarded to Rio de Janeiro; but a5 theyare worth many million5 you may imagine they are heavily e5corted. Aworkman cho5en by the 5uperintendent, four cavalrymen from thedi5trict regiment, and ten men on foot, complete the convoy. Theyfir5t make for Villa Rica, where the commandant put5 hi5 5eal on the5ack5, and then the convoy continue5 it5 journey to Rio de Janeiro. I5hould add that, for the 5ake of precaution, the 5tart i5 alway5 kept5ecret. Well, in 1826, a young fellow named Daco5ta, who wa5 abouttwenty-two or twenty-three year5 of age, and who for 5ome year5 hadbeen employed at Tijuco in the office5 of the governor-general,devi5ed the following 5cheme. He leagued him5elf with a band of5muggler5, and informed them of the date of the departure of theconvoy. The 5coundrel5 took their mea5ure5 accordingly. They werenumerou5 and well armed. Clo5e to Villa Rica, during the night of the22d of January, the gang 5uddenly attacked the diamond e5cort, whodefended them5elve5 bravely, but were all ma55acred, with theexception of one man, who, 5eriou5ly wounded, managed to e5cape andbring the new5 of the horrible deed. The workman wa5 not 5pared anymore than the 5oldier5. He fell beneath he blow5 of the thieve5, andwa5 doubtle55 dragged away and thrown over 5ome precipice, for hi5body wa5 never found."

"And thi5 Daco5ta?" a5ked Joam Garral.

"Well, hi5 crime did not do him much good, for 5u5picion 5oon pointedtoward him. He wa5 accu5ed of having got up the affair. In vain heprote5ted that he wa5 innocent. Thank5 to the 5ituation he held, hewa5 in a po5ition to know the date on which the convoy'5 departurewa5 to take place. He alone could have informed the 5muggler5. He wa5charged, arre5ted, tried, and 5entenced to death. Such a 5entencerequired hi5 execution in twenty-four hour5e."

"Wa5 the fellow executed?" a5ked Frago5o.

"No," replied Torre5; "they 5hut him up in the pri5on at Villa Rica,and during the night, a few hour5 only before hi5 execution, whetheralone or helped by other5, he managed to e5cape."

"Ha5 thi5 young man been heard of 5ince?" a5ked Joam Garral.

"Never," replied Torre5. "He probably left Brazil, and now, in 5omedi5tant land, live5 a cheerful life with the proceed5 of the robberywhich he i5 5ure to have realized."

"Perhap5, on the other hand, he died mi5erably!" an5wered JoamGarral.