The Violent Land by Jorge Amado

Author:Jorge Amado [Amado, Jorge]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Literary
ISBN: 9781101602928
Google: D3zaxVtPl3cC
Publisher: Knopf
Published: 1942-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

6

The shouts of the tailors reached Dr. Jessé as he went down the street: “Doctor! Dr. Jessé! Come here!”

The four tailors stood in the doorway of the Parisian Shears, the best tailor-shop in Tabocas, owned by Tonico Borges, who at the moment held the pieces of a pair of trousers in one hand and a needle and thread in the other. The Parisian Shears was not only the best tailor-shop in Tabocas; it was also, as everyone admitted, the headquarters for the most malicious local gossip. Here everything was known, even to the food that was eaten in private homes, and everything that happened was duly discussed. On this particular day the Parisian Shears was buzzing with excitement on account of the news that had just arrived from Ferradas in the wake of Horacio and his retinue. It was for this reason that Tonico Borges was shouting at the top of his voice for Dr. Jessé. The latter’s presence was urgently needed by way of throwing light on a number of matters.

Short, squat, and puffing, his hat on the back of his head, his spectacles falling down over his nose, his boots thoroughly splashed with mud, the physician came up to them and inquired what it was they wanted of him. One of the tailors hastened to bring him a chair.

“Make yourself comfortable, doctor.”

Dr. Jessé sat down, depositing his instrument-case on the brick floor. That case was famous in the town, for in it was to be found the most diverse collection of objects imaginable: everything from a bistoury to dried cacao seeds, from injections to ripe fruit, from medicine phials to rent receipts for the houses that the doctor owned. Tonico Borges, who had gone to the rear of the shop, now returned with a big, ripe avocado.

“I was saving that for you, doctor,” he said.

Jessé thanked him and stowed the fruit away in his case. The tailors formed a circle about him, having drawn up their chairs as close to him as possible at a point that afforded them at the same time a view of the entire street.

“Well, what’s new?” said Dr. Jessé.

“That’s for you to tell us, doctor. You’re the one that knows.”

“Knows what?”

“Well, they’re saying around here that things are getting hot between Colonel Horacio and the Badarós,” one of the other tailors began.

“And that Juca Badaró is lining up people for his side.” Tonico completed the sentence for him.

“You call that news?” said the doctor. “I could have—”

“But there’s one thing I’ll guarantee you don’t know, doctor.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“That Juca Badaró has already sent for an engineer to survey the forest of Sequeiro Grande.”

“What’s that you say? Where did you hear it?”

Tonico made a mysterious gesture. “A little bird told me, doctor. Is there anything in Tabocas that everybody doesn’t know? When they have nothing to talk about, they make something up.”

But Dr. Jessé was not satisfied with this. “Seriously speaking,” he said, “who was it that told you?”

Tonico Borges lowered his voice: “It was Azevedo, who runs the hardware store.

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