Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
That morning, his agitation largely passed and his decision made, after straightening
his papers for Rio Branco and changing his clothes, Euclides went to Botafogo, where
his dearest relative, his cousin Arnaldo, lived with his brother Nestor. Arnaldo had been
Euclides's companion in the hard Amazon days and his compatriot in the diplomatic
corps of the Baron. Using the excuse of a rabid dog in his neighborhood, Euclides asked
Nestor to locate a gun since Solon had made off with his. He chose a Smith and Wesson
.22-caliber pistol. He drank a cup of coffee, and everyone later remarked that he was
very calm. Then, having taken a streetcar to the suburb of Piedade, Euclides wandered
around the neighborhood, asking where the two cadets lived.
65
Constantino Fontainha, who worked at the
Jornal do Comércio
, happened to be on
his way to the butcher shop to select some choice meats for the Sunday lunch that is so
much a part of Brazilian family life. At the storefront, with gleaming carcasses in the
background, he encountered a man who asked whether he knew where the cadets lived.
Constantino cheerily remarked, “Why, they're my neighbors!” and pointed the way to
the de Assis house.
66
It was a quiet morning, still drizzly and hot as Rio's turgid air tends to be after a night
of storms. Solon was at the bottom of the garden, Ana and Dilermando were breakfast-
ing with little “Lulu” in the dishabille normal to intimates. Then Dinorah, going to the
frontofthehouseforsomecigarettes,heardaknock,lookedthroughawindow,andsaw
Euclides. Dinorah fled to the rear of the house and informed the couple that Euclides
was at the door.
67
At first Dilermando thought this was a joke in remarkably bad taste, but soon he real-
ized the gravity of the situation and told Dinorah not to let Euclides in just yet. He dir-
ected Ana, the cook (a former da Cunha family retainer), and Luis to hide in a pantry
that had been modified into a photographic darkroom. He told Dinorah to stall Euclides
because he needed to get into more formal attire to receive him—and to get the .38 on
his dresser. Dilermando would ultimately become Brazil's sharpshooting champion; he
was rarely far from his firearm.
68
Dilermando's idea was that Solon would escort his father through the house and see
that Ana wasn't there, and then Dilermando and Euclides could have a man-to-man con-
versation. But Euclides bargedinto the parlor,pulled agunfromhisjacket, andshouted,
“I've come to kill or be killed!” He lunged past Dinorah into the hall and stopped at the
first door, which happened to be to Dilermando's room.
All the witnesses reported that the first shot was loud and powerful, probably from
Dilermando's .38. Dinorah reported that Euclides kicked open the door of Dilermando's
room and fired in two shots, and that after the third shot Dinorah grabbed him from be-
hind and pushed him toward the dining room in the back of the house while Euclides
tookrandomshotsbehindhim.ThatthirdshotgrazedDinorah,asdidthefourth.Dinorah
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