“Here’s the bill of exchange,” said Senhor José Brito, taking his wallet out of his pocket and a piece of paper out of the wallet.

“Why didn’t you come earlier?” asked Vasconcelos, trying to put off the evil hour.

“I came at eight o’clock this morning,” replied the creditor, “and you were asleep; I came at nine, idem; I came at ten, idem; I came at eleven, idem; I came at noon, idem. I could have come at one o’clock, but I had to send a man to prison and I couldn’t get away any earlier. At three, I had my dinner, and here I am at four o’clock.”

Vasconcelos took a puff on his cigar to see if he could come up with some clever way of avoiding making a payment he had not been expecting.

Nothing occurred to him, but then the creditor himself gave him an opening.

“Besides,” he said, “the time hardly matters, since I was sure you would pay me.”

“Ah,” said Vasconcelos, “that explains it. I wasn’t expecting you today, you see, and so I don’t have the money with me.”

“What’s to be done, then?” asked the creditor innocently.

Vasconcelos felt a glimmer of hope.

“You could wait until tomorrow.”

“Ah, tomorrow I’m hoping to be present at the confiscation of assets from an individual I took to court for a very large debt, so I’m afraid I can’t . . .”

“I see, well, in that case, I’ll bring the money to your house.”

“That would be fine if business worked like that. If we were friends, then obviously I would accept your promise and it would all be settled tomorrow, but I’m your creditor, and my one aim is to protect my own interests. Therefore, I think it would be best if you paid me today.”

Vasconcelos smoothed his hair with one hand.

“But I don’t have the money!” he said.

“Yes, that must be very awkward for you, but it doesn’t upset me in the least; that is, it ought to upset me a little, because you clearly find yourself in a very precarious situation.”

“Do I?”

“Indeed. Your properties in Rua da Imperatriz are mortgaged up to the hilt; the house in Rua de São Pedro was sold, and the money from the sale long since spent; your slaves have all left one by one, without you even noticing, and you recently spent a vast amount on setting up house for a certain lady of dubious reputation. You see, I know it all. More than you do yourself.”

Vasconcelos was visibly terrified.

The creditor was telling the truth.

“But,” said Vasconcelos, “what are we to do?”

“That’s easy enough, we double the debt, and you give me a deposit right now.”

“Double the debt, but that’s—”