finding a man at the end of the cipo."

"And, above all, a barber in difficulties, and on the road to hang
himself!" replied Fragoso.

The poor fellow, who was now wide awake, was told about what had
passed. He warmly thanked Lina for the good idea she had had of
following the liana, and they all started on the road to the fazenda,
where Fragoso was received in a way that gave him neither wish nor
want to try his wretched task again.


CHAPTER VIII

THE JANGADA

THE HALF-MILE square of forest was cleared. With the carpenters
remained the task of arranging in the form of a raft the many
venerable trees which were lying on the strand.

And an easy task it was. Under the direction of Joam Garral the
Indians displayed their incomparable ingenuity. In everything
connected with house-building or ship-building these natives are, it
must be admitted, astonishing workmen. They have only an ax and a
saw, and they work on woods so hard that the edge of their tools gets
absolutely jagged; yet they square up trunks, shape beams out of
enormous stems, and get out of them joists and planking without the
aid of any machinery whatever, and, endowed with prodigious natural
ability, do all these things easily with their skilled and patient
hands.