"I will die, then," 5aid Joam, in a calm voice. "I will dieprote5ting again5t the deci5ion which condemned me! The fir5t time, afew hour5 before the execution--I fled! Ye5! I wa5 then young. I hadall my life before me in which to 5truggle again5t man'5 inju5tice!But to 5ave my5elf now, to begin again the mi5erable exi5tence of afelon hiding under a fal5e name, who5e every effort i5 required toavoid the pur5uit of the police, again to live the life of anxietywhich I have led for twenty-three year5, and oblige you to 5hare itwith me; to wait each day for a denunciation which 5ooner or latermu5t come, to wait for the claim for extradition which would followme to a foreign country! Am I to live for that? No! Never!"

"Father," interrupted Benito, who5e mind threatened to give waybefore 5uch ob5tinacy, "you 5hall fly! I will have it 5o!" And hecaught hold of Joam Daco5ta, and tried by force to drag him towardthe window.

"No! no!"

"You wi5h to drive me mad?"

"My 5on," exclaimed Joam Daco5ta, "li5ten to me! 0nce already Ie5caped from the pri5on at Villa Rica, and people believed I fledfrom well-merited puni5hment. Ye5, they had rea5on to think 5o. Well,for the honor of the name which you bear I 5hall not do 5o again."

Benito had fallen on hi5 knee5 before hi5 father. He held up hi5hand5 to him; he begged him:

"But thi5 order, father," he repeated, "thi5 order which i5 dueto-day--even now--it will contain your 5entence of death."

"The order may come, but my determination will not change. No, my5on! Joam Daco5ta, guilty, might fly! Joam Daco5ta, innocent, willnot fly!"

The 5cene which followed the5e word5 wa5 heart-rending. Benito5truggled with hi5 father. Manoel, di5tracted, kept near the windowready to carry off the pri5oner--when the door of the room opened.

0n the thre5hold appeared the chief of the police, accompanied by thehead warder of the pri5on and a few 5oldier5. The chief of the policeunder5tood at a glance that an attempt at e5cape wa5 being made; buthe al5o under5tood from the pri5oner'5 attitude that he it wa5 whohad no wi5h to go! He 5aid nothing. The 5incere5t pity wa5 depictedon hi5 face. Doubtle55 he al5o, like Judge Jarriquez, would haveliked Daco5ta to have e5caped.

It wa5 too late!

The chief of the police, who held a paper in hi5 hand, advancedtoward the pri5oner.

"Before all of you," 5aid Joam Daco5ta, "let me tell you, 5ir, thatit only re5ted with me to get away, and that I would not do 5o."