The Pearl: Chapter 5

Juana Wakes up while Kino is sleeping and goes to the fireplace before creeping out of the house. All along, kino is watching each movement. He also creeps out of the house and goes after her. She walks towards the beach. When she notices him coming after her, she starts running towards the sea. Just when she lifts her hand to throw the pearl into the water, he gets hold of the hand and strikes her hard until she falls into the water. She then picks herself up and resigns to the fact that she cannot challenge him. After all, he is a man: half god half insane.

As he walks up the beach, he notices a dark figure and attacks it hard with his knife. The assailed is, however, too strong for him. He/she strikes kino off the ground and searches through his pockets for the pearl. Luckily, the impact had knocked the pearl out of his hands and it lies behind a stone on the ground. Juana rises and goes towards Kino. The moon is impeded by the clouds in one instance and is revealed in another. When it is finally revealed, she notices Kino's pearl lying on the ground. She picks it and wonders whether she should go back to the sea and throw it away or keep it. She decides not to throw it away. When she looks around, she notices Kino and a stranger lying on the ground. Blood oozes from the stranger's neck. It dawns on her that the peace she has been trying to rescue has disappeared for good with Kino's killing of the man. She knows that now they will have to defend themselves against the wrath of the people.

She drags the stranger to a nearby brush and then sponges Kino's face with her wet skirt. When he regains his senses, he is worried that he has lost the pearl but she assures him that she had picked it for him. They agree that they have to run away for their safety since he has killed a man. Kino advises her to go home and get the bay as he goes to the beach to prepare their canoe. When he gets to the canoe, he notices a huge hole in his canoe. He is very annoyed. He walks back towards his brush house a very infuriated man. Whatever has been done to his boat is more grievous than killing a man. A boat is a source of livelihood among the people of the brush houses. It does not occur to him that he can steal his neighbours boat and run away on it. He has never been that kind of a person.

He sees his house burning and runs towards it. On his way, he meets Juana carrying the baby and she reports that the house was torn and its ground dug up before it was set ablaze. The arsonists are unknown. She could only see dark figures. He takes Juana and the baby towards Juan Tomas' house and drags them in. The neighbours shout outside, thinking that Kino and his family have been burnt down. Apolonia wails loudly because it is her duty as their nearest female relative to do so. When she comes back to the house to change her shawl, she sees Kino and he tells her to bring Juan Tomas to the house.

KIno informs Juan Tomas that he had killed a man. He reports to him that all routes for a possible escape have been blocked and so it is very hard for him to run away. Juan Tomas reiterates Juana's earlier assertion that the pearl has to be sold as quickly as possible in order to get rid of the evil spell upon them and regain normalcy. Juan Tomas agrees to hide them at least till morning. Through the crevices on the house, they can see the neighbours racking through the remains of the house looking for their bones.

Juan Tomas goes out to talk to the neghbours. He lies to them that Kino had gone away. He borrows some food and a strong knife, which he gives to Kino to use on his journey. Kino says that he would be going north. They agree that he should avoid the beach since people are planning to look for him along the shore. He and his family leave the next night towards the north.

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