The Testament

Jevy and Welly take the helm from Nate, who failed to notice “a wayward tree trunk” that struck the boat (202). Over coffee, Jevy tells Nate about his life and the local environment. Jevy’s father had been a river pilot who died while ferrying German tourists. Having traveled the Pantanal with his father from a young age, he considers the rivers his home.

Jevy explains that the larger farms are owned by big companies that Jevy believes want to destroy the Pantanal. They are clearing forests to farm soybeans, causing a host of destructive consequences. The sprays and fertilizers that they use to grow crops cause further problems. Mining for gold, too, leads to mercury running into the rivers that feed into the Pantanal, killing the fish. Even sewage gets dumped into the river. The Hidrovia, a project purportedly meant to link Brazil with its neighbors, is draining the Pantanal with the government’s support. But Jevy thinks that “it’s too big for them to destroy” (205).

Later, they arrive at a trading post hoping to pick up information about Rachel. Fernando from the trading post mentions that a woman missionary works with Indigenous people in the northern settlements, but since they do not travel on the river, not much is known about them. Jevy and Nate will have to travel there in the smaller boat. Nate considers having beer on the return journey and is overtaken by a frenzied longing. Welly appears with coffee, pulling him out of it. Nate picks up one of the books that Josh packed for him about the history of Brazil’s Indigenous populations. The history is “sick and violent” (209); it includes 400 years of genocide and exploitation by miners, ranchers, rubber barons, and the government. Talking about it with Jevy later, Nate admits that the history of the US’s treatment of American tribes is “[n]ot much better” (212).

The sound of the engine stopping in the night wakes Nate, who feels pride at adding another sober day to his calendar. He recalls the grim final days of his crash. They have docked near a farmhouse to pack supplies into the outboard that they will use to travel the tributaries of the Pantanal into Indigenous territory. Nate fashions a waterproof case for the documents that he plans to present to Rachel Lane but leaves the satellite phone behind with Welly. Jevy brings a machete and 15 hours’ worth of gasoline. Nate has put his wristwatch on to keep close tabs on their travel time.

Within two hours, they are lost in the maze of tributaries. Nate wonders whether Jevy’s lifetime study of these rivers will enable them to find their way back. They run into a fisherman who points toward a settlement a few hours away. The prospect of running out of fuel terrifies Nate. Seven hours in, they see signs of the settlement. A young Indigenous man appears, unarmed, followed by three more and a young woman who speaks Portuguese. She instructs Jevy and Nate to wait. Jevy explains that the Indigenous people are cautious because “[t]hey catch diseases from outsiders” (224). While they wait, Nate breaches client-confidentiality rules, revealing to Jevy why they are looking for Rachel Lane. Jevy wonders why Phelan would leave “such a fortune to a child who didn’t love him” (225).

The Indigenous people whom they encountered are Guató, who live as their ancestors did and prefer “no contact with outsiders” (227). Their leader questions Jevy, and he tells them that they are looking for a woman missionary. The Guató have not seen her, but they believe that she may be with the Ipicas in the north. Jevy and Nate confer over how to get to the Ipicas’ settlement. Nate suggests hiring two of the Guató to guide them, but the concept of work for hire is unknown to them, and their leader does not want anyone to leave. When they consult their map with the Guatós’ input, they realize that they were lost and plot a course back to the boat.

Less than an hour into their journey, the motor shuts down. The current carries them slowly, and it is raining. While Jevy works on the engine, Nate battles the current with paddles. Jevy manages to get the motor working again. A storm moves in, pelting them with rain and winds. In their small boat, they cannot dock to ride out the storm. Nate does not recognize the landscape and is sure that they are lost. Jevy continues guiding them as night descends. The rain stops, bringing in hordes of mosquitoes.

The three psychiatrists who declared Phelan mentally sound at his will signing are fired, and a new expert, Dr. Sabo, is purchased to discredit the three previous psychiatrists and claim that Phelan was not sane. Unable to charge their clients by the hour, the lawyers agree to contingencies, haggling with the family members over percentages. No one asks whether “they were doing the right thing” (239).

Phelan’s “longtime gofer” (239), Snead, went unnoticed at the reading of the will and left in tears. Phelan had promised to take care of him but left him nothing. Snead had sacrificed his life to serving Phelan and been at his beck and call around the clock. He seeks out Hark Gettys, “the loudest of the Phelan lawyers” (239), and offers his services. Snead makes it clear that he will provide whatever testimony is needed. His fee is $5 million, which includes his testimony and that of Nicolette, Phelan’s secretary, who was also present at his will signing and suicide.

Jevy and Nate had tied the boat to a tree overnight. At dawn, they set out again. Nate is sure that they are lost. Jevy assures him that eventually they will end up in the Paraguay River because all the rivers lead there. Nate is convinced that he will die in the swamp. Suddenly, they hear a shout, and a teenager in a canoe appears. After conferring with Jevy, he agrees to lead them toward the Ipicas’ settlement for a small fee.

Just beyond the settlement, the boy leaves them. They first see women and children bathing naked, then men appear, leading Jevy and Nate on a long hike toward their settlement. After conversing with Jevy, who explains that they are searching for a woman missionary, the Ipicas put Jevy and Nate under guard and depart to confer among themselves. Eventually, they return with an American woman. Nate tells her that he is looking for Rachel Lane over a legal matter. She says that she is not Rachel Lane, then sends Jevy into the village with the Ipicas to be fed.

When she and Nate are alone, the woman reveals that “Rachel Lane ceased to exist many years ago” (257). After college and before attending medical school, Rachel changed her name. Nate reveals that Phelan died by suicide, and she briefly prays. Since she only met Phelan once, she wonders how Nate was able to find her. Nate notes that Phelan had many resources. Rachel admits to being very nervous when speaking English, then encourages Nate to pray and inquires what church he attends. Worried about how the money might change her, Nate decides to wait until the next day to tell her the full scope of her inheritance. She warns him that a guide will be necessary for him and Jevy to find their way back to the Paraguay and tells him that they will have to stay here for the night. The leader must approve a visit to the village by a white man, and the leader alone will decide when they can leave. Rachel assures him that they will be safe and urges him to pray.

Later, Nate admits to Jevy his ambivalence about giving Rachel the money, given how happy she is; “[i]t seems cruel to upset her life” (264).

Rachel keeps diligent records of births, deaths, illnesses, and treatments in the Ipicas’ settlement. She knows everyone and has converted approximately one third of the Ipicas, including the parents of a young girl, Ayesh, who is bitten by a snake. Rachel is fetched to treat her, but she does not have the antivenin that could save her life. Widely available in the US, it was unavailable during Rachel’s last visit to Corumbá.

Still feeling the effects of the plane crash, Nate wakes up sore, wondering how he ended up here. Back home, lawyers are beginning to think about how to bill more hours in the new year, a vow that “seem[s] silly” now (268). The leader summons Jevy and Nate to the village. Nate cannot stop himself from gaping at the man’s naked wife. He wishes that he had a camera to show “[t]he boys around the office” (270). Nate is frustrated to learn that Rachel is away, treating Ayesh, who eventually dies. The leader wants them to stay in the village overnight. Nate wishes that he brought the satellite phone, sure that Josh has grown concerned after five days with no contact.

Back in Corumbá, Ruiz takes a call from Josh and tries to reassure him. Privately, he reflects on the legion of stories about “people who entered the Pantanal and never came back,” including Jevy’s father, whose “body was never recovered” (272). Later in the day, Welly turns up alone with news that the boat sank in a massive storm and he has no idea where Jevy and Nate are. Ruiz decides to give Jevy a few more days to return before notifying Josh.

Rachel returns in the evening and meets with Nate outside her hut. She refuses to sign any papers, leave the village to appear in court, or accept the money at all. When Nate claims to be here for her benefit, she bristles and challenges him. He does not know her, and neither did Phelan. Neither of them could know what would benefit her. She wants no part of the “sad culture” that has made the pursuit of money, sex, and fame into a religion (285). Her calling as a missionary came to her at the age of 14, when she became a Christian, and she has no plans ever to leave the Ipicas.

She apologizes to Nate for his wasted trip. He tells her that he would like to leave the following day, and she promises to speak to the leader.

Josh begins to worry about Nate but knows that initiating a rescue mission would be futile given the size of the Pantanal. He and Wycliff meet to watch the recording of Phelan’s will signing. Rex and Libbigail’s lawyers have “already filed petitions to contest the will” (290). Josh tells Wycliff that he believes that Phelan was “eccentric, whimsical, mean as hell” but that “he knew what he was doing” (292). Since Phelan destroyed all his previous wills, his estate would be divided equally among his children if his holographic will is nullified. Wycliff is hoping for a “big nasty will contest” (292), but they must find Rachel to have it.

Rachel meets with the leader, who will not send a guide with Jevy and Nate. With a storm brewing, it is too dangerous. Rachel advises them not to travel without a guide. Nate accompanies Rachel on her hike to Ayesh’s funeral so that they can talk. He is growing tired of his “adventure” and wants to return to Corumbá. She discusses the Ipicas’ connection to their land and the bloodshed and diseases that they have faced at the hands of so-called “civilized folks” (294).

Nate tries to bring the conversation back to the money and the good that she could do with it, but Rachel repeatedly tells him not to talk about it. She is completely content and at peace with her life. He tells her that Phelan’s children will squander the money and cause untold grief with it. Rachel’s only response is that she will pray for them. After exchanging stories about their childhoods, Nate admits that he has an alcohol addiction. Rachel shows him how to pray, and he feels his burdens lifting but still feels afraid of the temptations “that await[…] him at home” (301).

The storm that the leader feared never comes. After a week in the Pantanal, where life has remained the same for centuries, “the listless pace of life” has left Nate feeling numb (303). Jevy notices him watching Rachel, who has come to speak with him. She seems tired and is upset by the trouble that she had with a shalyun at Ayesh’s funeral. Every village has a shalyun, a doctor who uses herbs and roots for remedies and “calls forth spirits” (305). Rachel is their enemy because she threatens their religion. Nate is impressed by her courage and comforts her when she breaks into tears.

She has seen malaria in a neighboring village and urges Nate and Jevy to leave immediately. The leader has agreed to send guides with them. She begs Nate to protect her privacy and not reveal that he found her. He considers the media frenzy that would ensue, whether she took or rejected the money, and promises to do what he can but leaves the papers behind with her. She tells him that he is a good man worth saving; she does not fear death and asks him to pray for her. He only half-jokingly asks her to marry him. On the arduous return journey, Nate falls gravely ill.