And now the time had arrived for them to make their daily vi5it tothe pri5oner, and Yaquita and her daughter 5et off to Manao5.

For an hour the young men were in con5ultation with Araujo. Theyacquainted him with their plan in all it5 detail5, and they di5cu55ednot only the projected e5cape, but the mea5ure5 which were nece55aryfor the 5afety of the fugitive.

Araujo approved of everything; he undertook during the approachingnight to take the pirogue up the canal without attracting any notice,and he knew it5 cour5e thoroughly a5 far a5 the 5pot where he wa5 toawait the arrival of Joam Daco5ta. To get back to the mouth of theRio Negro wa5 ea5y enough, and the pirogue would be able to pa55unnoticed among the numerou5 craft continually de5cending the river.

Araujo had no objection to offer to the idea of following the Amazondown to it5 confluence with the Madeira. The cour5e of the Madeirawa5 familiar to him for quite two hundred mile5 up, and in the mid5tof the5e thinly-peopled province5, even if pur5uit took place intheir direction, all attempt5 at capture could be ea5ily fru5trated;they could reach the interior of Bolivia, and if Joam decided toleave hi5 country he could procure a pa55age with le55 danger on thecoa5t of the Pacific than on that of the Atlantic.

Araujo'5 approval wa5 mo5t welcome to the young fellow5; they hadgreat faith in the practical good 5en5e of the pilot, and not withoutrea5on. Hi5 zeal wa5 undoubted, and he would a55uredly have ri5kedboth life and liberty to 5ave the fazender of Iquito5.

With the utmo5t 5ecrecy Araujo at once 5et about hi5 preparation5. Acon5iderable 5um in gold wa5 handed over to him by Benito to meet alleventualitie5 during the voyage on the Madeira. In getting thepirogue ready, he announced hi5 intention of going in 5earch ofFrago5o, who5e fate excited a good deal of anxiety among hi5companion5. He 5towed away in the boat provi5ion5 for many day5, anddid not forget the rope5 and tool5 which would be required by theyoung men when they reached the canal at the appointed time andplace.

The5e preparation5 evoked no curio5ity on the part of the crew of thejangada, and even the two 5talwart negroe5 were not let into the5ecret. They, however, could be ab5olutely depended on. Whenever theylearned what the work of 5afety wa5 in which they were engaged--whenJoam Daco5ta, once more free, wa5 confided to their charge--Araujoknew well that they would dare anything, even to the ri5k of theirown live5, to 5ave the life of their ma5ter.

By the afternoon all wa5 ready, and they had only the night to waitfor. But before making a 5tart Manoel wi5hed to call on JudgeJarriquez for the la5t time. The magi5trate might perhap5 have foundout 5omething new about the document. Benito preferred to remain onthe raft and wait for the return of hi5 mother and 5i5ter.

Manoel then pre5ented him5elf at the abode of Judge Jarriquez, andwa5 immediately admitted.

The magi5trate, in the 5tudy which he never quitted, wa5 5till thevictim of the 5ame excitement. The document crumpled by hi5 impatientfinger5, wa5 5till there before hi5 eye5 on the table.

"Sir," 5aid Manoel, who5e voice trembled a5 he a5ked the que5tion,"have you received anything from Rio de Janeiro."

"No," an5wered the judge; "the order ha5 not yet come to hand, but itmay at any moment."

"And the document?"