today…I invite you all to take a ride today on the carrousel on the square in Itapagipe.”
He had hoped that the faces would be more animated. That an extraordinary joy would reign in the whole place. Because then he would be even more convinced that he was serving God when from those five hundred
milreis
that Dona Guilhermina Silva had given him for candles for the altar of the Virgin he had taken fifty
milreis
in order to take the Captains of the Sands to the carrousel. And since the faces didn’t suddenly become happy, he was puzzled, the notes in his hand, looking at the crowd of boys. Pedro Bala stroked his hair (which fell over his ears), he tried to speak, he couldn’t. Then he looked at the Professor and it was the latter who explained:
“Father, you’re a good man.” He felt like saying that the priest was a good man like Big João, but he thought perhaps the priest might be offended if he compared him to the black boy. “As a matter of fact Legless and Dry Gulch are both working on the carrousel. And we’ve been invited,” he paused briefly, “by the owner, who’s their friend, to ride free at night. We won’t forget your invitation…” The Professor was speaking slowly, choosing his words, thinking that it was a delicate moment, making up a lot of things and Pedro Bala backed him up with nods. “Another time. But you won’t be mad at us for not accepting, will you? It didn’t work out,” and he was looking at the priest, whose face was happy again.
“No. Another time.” He looked at the boys, smiling. “It’s even better this way. Because the money I had…” and he suddenly fell silent at the deed he was about to recount. And he thought that maybe it had been a lesson from God, a warning that he had done something bad. His look was so strange that the boys stepped closer.
They were looking at the priest without understanding. Pedro Bala scratched his head as when he had a problem to solve, the Professor tried to speak. But Big João understood everything, in spite of his being the slowest wit of all:
“Did it belong to the church, Father?” and he covered his mouth, angry at himself.
The others understood. Lollipop thought that it would have been a great sin but felt that the priest’s goodness was greater than the sin. Then Legless came over limping more than usual as if fighting with himself and almost shouted first, then lowering his voice:
“We can stick it back where it was…It’s duck soup for us. Don’t be sad…” and he smiled.
And Legless’s smile and the friendship that the priest read in the eyes of all of them (could those have been tears in João’s eyes?) restored his calm, serenity, and confidence in his act and in his God. He said in a natural voice:
“An old widow gave five hundred
milreis
for candles. I took out fifty so you people could ride on the carrousel. God will judge whether or not I did the right thing. Now I’ll just buy candles.”
Pedro Bala felt that he had a debt to pay the priest. He wanted the priest to know that they understood. And since there was nothing else at hand he was ready to skip the work they could have done that afternoon and invited the priest:
“We’re going to the carrousel to see Dry Gulch and Legless this afternoon. Do you want to come with us, Father?”
Father José Pedro said he did because he knew that was another step forward in his intimacy with the Captains of the Sands. And a group went to the square with the priest. Several didn’t go, including Cat, who went to see Dalva. But those who went looked like a group of good little boys coming from catechism. If they’d been better dressed and cleaned up they could have passed for schoolboys, they were going along in such an orderly fashion. On the square they went around everything with the priest. With pride they showed Dry Gulch imitating animals, dressed like a
cangaceiro
, Legless making the carrousel run all by himself because Nhôzinho França had
He had hoped that the faces would be more animated. That an extraordinary joy would reign in the whole place. Because then he would be even more convinced that he was serving God when from those five hundred
milreis
that Dona Guilhermina Silva had given him for candles for the altar of the Virgin he had taken fifty
milreis
in order to take the Captains of the Sands to the carrousel. And since the faces didn’t suddenly become happy, he was puzzled, the notes in his hand, looking at the crowd of boys. Pedro Bala stroked his hair (which fell over his ears), he tried to speak, he couldn’t. Then he looked at the Professor and it was the latter who explained:
“Father, you’re a good man.” He felt like saying that the priest was a good man like Big João, but he thought perhaps the priest might be offended if he compared him to the black boy. “As a matter of fact Legless and Dry Gulch are both working on the carrousel. And we’ve been invited,” he paused briefly, “by the owner, who’s their friend, to ride free at night. We won’t forget your invitation…” The Professor was speaking slowly, choosing his words, thinking that it was a delicate moment, making up a lot of things and Pedro Bala backed him up with nods. “Another time. But you won’t be mad at us for not accepting, will you? It didn’t work out,” and he was looking at the priest, whose face was happy again.
“No. Another time.” He looked at the boys, smiling. “It’s even better this way. Because the money I had…” and he suddenly fell silent at the deed he was about to recount. And he thought that maybe it had been a lesson from God, a warning that he had done something bad. His look was so strange that the boys stepped closer.
They were looking at the priest without understanding. Pedro Bala scratched his head as when he had a problem to solve, the Professor tried to speak. But Big João understood everything, in spite of his being the slowest wit of all:
“Did it belong to the church, Father?” and he covered his mouth, angry at himself.
The others understood. Lollipop thought that it would have been a great sin but felt that the priest’s goodness was greater than the sin. Then Legless came over limping more than usual as if fighting with himself and almost shouted first, then lowering his voice:
“We can stick it back where it was…It’s duck soup for us. Don’t be sad…” and he smiled.
And Legless’s smile and the friendship that the priest read in the eyes of all of them (could those have been tears in João’s eyes?) restored his calm, serenity, and confidence in his act and in his God. He said in a natural voice:
“An old widow gave five hundred
milreis
for candles. I took out fifty so you people could ride on the carrousel. God will judge whether or not I did the right thing. Now I’ll just buy candles.”
Pedro Bala felt that he had a debt to pay the priest. He wanted the priest to know that they understood. And since there was nothing else at hand he was ready to skip the work they could have done that afternoon and invited the priest:
“We’re going to the carrousel to see Dry Gulch and Legless this afternoon. Do you want to come with us, Father?”
Father José Pedro said he did because he knew that was another step forward in his intimacy with the Captains of the Sands. And a group went to the square with the priest. Several didn’t go, including Cat, who went to see Dalva. But those who went looked like a group of good little boys coming from catechism. If they’d been better dressed and cleaned up they could have passed for schoolboys, they were going along in such an orderly fashion. On the square they went around everything with the priest. With pride they showed Dry Gulch imitating animals, dressed like a
cangaceiro
, Legless making the carrousel run all by himself because Nhôzinho França had
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