Affonzo's laugh rang out gaily, but he sobered down when his father said, "I excuse you since your uncle asks it, but remember after this that the commands of your mother are to be obeyed. Go now with your uncle and attend to his wants while he repairs the damage your carelessness has wrought." Affonzo bowed to his father and made the military salute as all school boys are taught to do in Brazil, but he sighed to himself as he went, "I wonder what he meant about Juan but I am afraid to ask. And the worst of it all is, that now I shall never know how the American melon tasted." CHAPTER II IN THE FOREST THE sun was just rising and its slanting rays cast a golden glow over the thick foliage when Affonzo sprang out of bed next morning, awakened by the noisy chattering of the birds. "Hurrah!" he exclaimed. "It is a fine day! How glad I am, for now I can go hunting with my father and Uncle Prudente." He hurried into his clothes and down to the breakfast-room, where Joachim was serving strong black coffee, rolls and fruit to his father and uncle. "Here you are, bright and early," said the Senhor. "Do you want to go with us? Perhaps you would better not!" Affonzo's face fell. "Oh, father! last night you promised!" he said, and his father answered, "Oh, you may go. I merely thought perhaps it might tire you too much, for we shall have a long tramp." "We must start at once," said his uncle, "if we are to have any sport before midday," and they started toward the forest. The Fazenda of the Senhor Dias was situated on the edge of the magnificent woods which line the banks of the Amazon near the City of Para. "No wonder that this region around Para is called the Paradise of Brazil," said the Senhor as they entered the forest, where heavy dew glittered on the leaves like diamonds in an emerald crown. "Every time I enter the forest it seems to me more splendid than it did the last time." "What are those huge trees?" asked Affonzo. "You ought to know those, for they are among the most famous of all Brazilian trees. They are the Stanba or stone wood, and beside them grows a cinnamon tree. In addition to these there is the jacaranda, pas d' arc, the euphorbia, the large lofty cotton-wood tree, the tall white syringa." "I know that one," said Affonzo. "It is a rubber tree. Won't you take me to see the rubber gathered to-day?" "Not to-day, but to-morrow, perhaps, for your uncle wishes to make the rounds and you may go with him." "Thank you, that will be delightful," said Affonzo. Their path led through the forest where long racemes of tropic moss hung down and waved in the breeze, while fern and vines grew in a tangle across the narrow path. Often the undergrowth was so thick, that Joachim had to go before the party and cut it away with his _tracado_.[1] "You must keep silent now," said the Senhor.