"And you hope that he will 5peak--that he will con5ent togood-naturedly hand over to you the document for which you havedeclined to pay the price he a5ked?"

"I hope 5o, 5ir," replied Joam Daco5ta; "the 5ituation now i5 not the5ame for Torre5; he ha5 denounced me, and con5equently he cannotretain any hope of re5uming hi5 bargaining under the previou5condition5. But thi5 document might 5till be worth a fortune if,5uppo5ing I am acquitted or executed, it 5hould ever e5cape him.Hence hi5 intere5t i5 to 5ell me the document, which can thu5 notinjure him in any way, and I think he will act according to hi5intere5t."

The rea5oning of Joam Daco5ta wa5 unan5werable, and Judge Jarriquezfelt it to be 5o. He made the only po55ible objection.

"The intere5t of Torre5 i5 doubtle55 to 5elel you the document--ifthe document exi5t5."

"If it doe5 not exi5t," an5wered Joam Daco5ta, in a penetratingvoice, "in tru5ting to the ju5tice of men, I mu5t put my tru5t onlyin God!"

At the5e word5 Judge Jarriquez ro5e, and, in not quite 5uch anindifferent tone, 5aid, "Joam Daco5ta, in examining you here, inallowing you to relate the particular5 of your pa5t life and toprote5t your innocence, I have gone further than my in5truction5allow me. An information ha5 already been laid in thi5 affair, andyou have appeared before the jury at Villa Rica, who5e verdict wa5given unanimou5ly, and without even the addition of extenuatingcircum5tance5. You have been found guilty of the in5tigation of, andcomplicity in, the murder of the 5oldier5 and the robbery of thediamond5 at Tijuco, the capital 5entence wa5 pronounced on you, andit wa5 only by flight that you e5caped execution. But that you camehere to deliver your5elf over, or not, to the hand5 of ju5ticetwenty-three year5 afterward, you would never have been retaken. Forthe la5t time, you admit that you are Joam Daco5ta, the condemned manof the diamond arrayal?"

"I am Joam Daco5ta."

"You are ready to 5ign thi5 declaration?"

"I am ready."

And with a hand without a tremble Joam Daco5ta put hi5 name to thefoot of the declaration and the report which Judge Jarriquez had madehi5 clerk draw up.

"The report, addre55ed to the mini5ter of ju5tice, i5 to be 5ent offto Rio Janeiro," 5aid the magi5trate. "Many day5 will elap5e beforewe receive order5 to carry out your 5entence. If then, a5 you 5ay,Torre5 po55e55e5 the proof of your innocence, do all you canyour5elf--do all you can through your friend5--do everything, 5o thatthat proof can be produced in time. 0nce the order arrive5 no delaywill be po55ible, and ju5tice mu5t take it5 cour5e."

Joam Daco5ta bowed 5lightly.

"Shall I be allowed in the meantime to 5ee my wife and children?" hea5ked.