The Discovery of America by the Turks

The Discovery of America by the Turks Read Online Free PDF

Book: The Discovery of America by the Turks Read Online Free PDF
Author: Jorge Amado
enthusiastic reception for his idea and concrete help for the success of the plan.
    “You can count on me, friend Ibrahim. We’ll set out together in this hunt for the rara avis. Let’s begin by analyzing the matter in depth.”
    That lark would be a gift from heaven, something tailor-made for filling idle time in that newly born city, so devoid of entertainment. Outside of gambling, the bar, the cabaret, and girlie houses, there was nothing to do. Caught up by his comrade’s story, Raduan Murad half-closed his eyes, content with life. He disagreed only with the concept of beauty put forth by Ibrahim, not denying, however, its standing as a commonplace taken from treatises on morality.
    “Moral treatises, monuments of hypocrisy! Virtue might be excellent for getting into heaven after you’re dead, but in bed, my dear Ibrahim, what matters is the flesh, what is properly called ‘matter.’”
    Putting the pieces into play, they had all of their countrymen in Itabuna pass in review. A lot of them, all well-disposed toward work, some of proven seriousness. One of the bachelors, Adib, the youngest of three brothers, orphaned on both sides, happened to be a waiter right there in that bar. Cheerful and sure of himself, he was manifestly expert in collecting money and making change, which was a prime indication. The bad part was his age. He was too young for Adma.
    “Adma’s already past thirty,” Ibrahim confessed.
    Raduan pushed that objection aside, however. A difference in age means little or nothing in the success of a marriage. What a young lad starting out in life needs beside him is a judicious wife who can show him the way. In a marriage between an old man and a young woman the husband runs the risk of cuckoldry, but in the opposite situation there’s nothing to fear. A woman doesn’t grow horns, isn’t that so? An irrefutable argument.
    Determined not to waste any time, they immediately set about with their soundings. Didn’t Adib feel like getting married, having a home, a nice home, a wife and children? Surprised at the question, the waiter thought a bit before answering that right now he had no wish to get married, no sir. Not yet twenty, he felt too young to tie himself down. Especially under those circumstances, because he was head over heels in love with Procópia.
    “Procópia?” Raduan became interested. “The civil judge’s woman?”
    Adib smacked his lips with an obscene sound of satisfaction.
    “The very same, yes, sir.”
    This was news of little bearing, even though it was of interest. An encyclopedia of urban and rural life, Raduan Murad kept abreast of everything that went on in Itabuna and its surroundings, including apparently irrelevant facts. An incomparable well of information, if he didn’t know a detail of some intrigue, he would invent it, and it so happened that most of the time he was right. When required he would foresee the course of events, leaving his audience dumbfounded. Life, after all, was nothing but a game of poker: All you had to do was substitute events and people for the cards and chips. In either case, at the gambling table or in the lottery of life, Raduan wasn’t averse to bluffing; quite the opposite. He wasn’t infallible, but he didn’t miss very often. He gave a deep sigh as he remembered Procópia’s breasts. She was crazy mad.
    “Congratulations, lad, but watch out for the judge.Dr. Gracindo is like a feudal lord. If he gets an inkling of that illicit agreement he’ll put you in jail and take a scabbard to you to teach you some respect for somebody else’s woman.”
    They were ready to consider Adib a cast-off card when they heard that surprised individual laugh and say, “I can tell you, though, that if the daughter of some plantation owner loaded down with dough should show up on my doorstep, I wouldn’t tell her to get lost….”
    The friends exchanged glances: cacao farm or commercial establishment; very little difference. Adib remained
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