a fazender, which would probably one day become his own, as he was
about to do that of a merchant on their descent of the river.

As for Manoel, he divided his time between the house, where Yaquita
and her daughter were as busy as possible, and the clearing, to which
Benito fetched him rather oftener than he thought convenient, and on
the whole the division was very unequal, as may well be imagined.


CHAPTER VII

FOLLOWING A LIANA

IT WAS a Sunday, the 26th of May, and the young people had made up
their minds to take a holiday. The weather was splendid, the heat
being tempered by the refreshing breezes which blew from off the
Cordilleras, and everything invited them out for an excursion into
the country.

Benito and Manoel had offered to accompany Minha through the thick
woods which bordered the right bank of the Amazon opposite the
fazenda.

It was, in a manner, a farewell visit to the charming environs of
Iquitos. The young men went equipped for the chase, but as sportsmen
who had no intention of going far from their companions in pursuit of
any game. Manoel could be trusted for that, and the girls--for Lina
could not leave her mistress--went prepared for a walk, an excursion
of two or three leagues being not too long to frighten them.