56 - ... STAYS IN THE FIELD

 56 - ... STAYS IN THE FIELD

 - Do you have any idea where they went, Maria?

- I know where they went...

- How could you know, Maria?

- They were commenting that they were going to Nazaré Paulista... it seems that they were going to join another entourage, there...

- Well, but who can say that? Suddenly they just gave us that clue so we could get lost...

-I don't think so... when I heard that story, we hadn't replaced Zé Ferreira yet...

- Oops! So, Nazaré Paulista, here we go...

And the three continued into the night, with the city of Nazaré Paulista as their final destination, where they hoped to end that story once and for all...

- Grace...

- What is it, Rose?

- I don't know about you... but I'm sleepy...

- We have to reach those goats, woman....

- And what are we going to do, when we find them?

- Capture them all, of course...

- The way we are? I'm sleep-deprived... and you're in no better condition...

- Rosa, I'm sorry... but we're not stopping tonight, no... I want to catch up with those scoundrels... after all, they have a maximum of two hours ahead...

- Graça, stop being stubborn... neither they nor us are able to go on tonight... we're sleepy... they're drunk, tired and sleepy... can we get some rest , before continuing the journey...

Maria, who had remained silent until then, decided to give her opinion...

- I think Rosa is right, Graça... even because, in the dark, we'll end up losing track of the group... better to rest for at least two hours before continuing the pursuit...

Overcome by the majority, Graça nodded positively... and after all, the two were right... she too felt tired from the day that had preceded this night... suddenly, a little rest would help the group to have success in their walk... even because the number of enemies had increased... well, they would have to decide what to do with the group, when they found him... after all, only Zé Ferreira was of value to them... the rest of the staff was perfectly expendable... they rode for another half hour, until they found an acceptable place to rest a little. They dismounted and arranged their equipment, drew lots on a straw, to see which of the three would stay awake while the others rested... It fell to Maria to watch over her friends' sleep...

The sun was high in the meadow, and the three girls had been riding for quite some time. Rested and invigorated by the rest, they felt ready to conquer the world... Zé Ferreira could wait for them... only Maria and Graça were armed with a rifle, Rosa did not carry any weapon, apart from the noose hanging from her saddle... .and the bola, of course... it's true that the three of them carried a dagger, but in a confrontation against firearms, would it be worth anything? Well, they could only know if it would work or not when they faced the situation...

It was after noon when they saw a village not far from where they were. They decided to make a stop... after all, surely there should be a tavern there, a pension... any place that served a decent meal... and they were hungry... after riding a little more, they saw an inn with the name "Glückliche Ecke"... Graça looked at the sign and gave a strange look... Maria didn't understand anything either... but Rosa cheered her friends up...

- Come on, girls... let's eat for real, now...

- Why this joy, girl? What did you see that got you so excited?

- Well... today we are going to eat some typical food of my people...

- I didn't understand...

- Well, you know that I came from Rio Grande....

- No I did not know...

- Neither do I... you're talking now...

- Okay... well, I'm from the pampas...

- I always thought that the gauchos descended from the Guaranis...

- Some, yes... others, like me, descend from other peoples... my family is of German origin...

- AND...?

- Well, this is a German inn... so let's have a typical meal from my land...

- So let's go...

The three dismounted, entered the establishment. A nice lady came to meet him. The place was empty at the time, they were the first customers of the day... from the kitchen came a good smell of food, which had the gift of increasing the girls' hunger. They chose a table close to the exit, sat down in a strategic position... after all, you never know what might happen, right? The failure of the previous night was still alive in their memories, and they didn't want to be caught by surprise again... Rosa was all excited... started talking to the lady... Graça and Maria were looking at the two, without understand nothing... what the hell were they talking about? After a while, the lady came to the girls' table with a tray with some dishes they had never seen before... of course, food looks like food anywhere, but the appearance was a little different from what they were used to.. ..

-Graça, try this schupfnudeln, you'll love it...

- Schu... what?

- Let's say it looks like a "penne" or a "gnocchi"... it's very good...

Maria looked at the white sausage that was on the platter... Rosa encouraged her to try it...

- Girl, you will simply love this weisswurst, it's delicious...

Maria looked at Rosa's plate and said...

- Well, I know what it is... it's a meatball...

- Yeah... königsberger klopse is a meatball... and it's really good...

After stuffing themselves with the dishes offered by Dona Greta, the owner of the inn, Rosa decided it was time to try at least one sweet, and asked for three krapfen, which, immediately, Graça said, when the sweets arrived...

- Well, that I know... they are Caroline...

- I know... but I bet you didn't know it was a German candy...

- I knew it was sweet... and that was enough for me...

They ate their sweets, paid for the meal and returned to the streets. Yes, they were really satisfied... now it was just a matter of resting a bit and getting back on the road. They sat on a bench in the square, watched the city go by... after a while, Rosa got up and started talking to one of the locals who was passing by. After a few minutes, she returned to her friends and told them the good news... the group they were chasing had passed by about three hours ago. Considering that they too should have stopped to rest and get something to eat, if they immediately chased after them, the distance between them would shrink...

Grace didn't even think twice...she bolted, as if a legion of demons were chasing her, and went straight to the stables to get her horse. Her friends arrived shortly after, but without the rush of this one...

- Graça, are you crazy, woman?

- Why this rush? One minute more, one minute less...

- Rosa... Maria... we're not that far from those goats... if we leave now, maybe by nightfall we'll be able to reach them...

- I know... and then?

- After? We recapture them, well...

- "They"? As far as I know, we are only interested in Zé Ferreira...

- Yes, but... we can't catch Ferreira if we don't catch the others, too...

- Yeah... and what do we do with "the others?

- I don't know... we'll see right away....

Rosa sighed deeply... Maria simply mumbled...

- This is not going to work...

The three mounted and won the meadow. Graça decided to put more speed on her horse, but the two friends immediately scolded her...

- Are you crazy?

- Graça, do you want to kill your horse, woman?

- What I want is to catch that... that...

- I know you're angry... but teasing your horse won't calm you down...

- Maria, when I think that that... wow, he was already in our hands...

Rosa looks dismayed at Graça, she doesn't know how to apologize to her friend. Maria notices Rosa's embarrassment and gives Graça an earful...

- Girl, nobody is to blame for what happened... it wasn't supposed to work... that's why we have to take it very calmly...

- Grace, forgive me... I... I didn't want to be the cause of our defeat... but I ended up being...

- Don't worry, Rosa... I was also guilty... I should have disarmed the caboclo before ordering you to arrest him... it happens... that's why I'm furious... how could I have been so careless , my God?

With that said, the three followed in silence. The sun continued its trajectory across the sky and after some time it curved to the West, hiding behind the mountains... suddenly, Rosa caught the attention of her friends...

-Maria, Graça... look there...

- Look where, girl?

- Over there... in the middle of that grove...

  The three reined in their mounts and watched the horizon for some time. Then the two realized what Rosa was trying to show them... a column of smoke was rising from the middle of the trees... or it was a fire... and it didn't have the characteristics of a fire... or it was a camp. And Graça was sure that they had finally achieved their prize...

Without saying a word, the three separated, each one going in a different direction... they would try to surround Zé Ferreira and his group. It wouldn't be easy, since in addition to Zé, there were six other companions by his side. And there were only three of them... For that reason they knew they would have to keep their attention redoubled, or risk repeating the failure of the previous day... but Graça was determined to resolve the situation once and for all, it didn't matter. whatever the end was... slowly, slowly, the three of them went deeper into the woods, taking great care that no one noticed their movements... yes, the girls felt like real wild jaguars ambushing their victims...