When the man reached his home at Vargem Grande a few days afterward he told his brother Marciano de Almeida of his encounter with the missionary, of how he had bought the Bible which he did not want and of the Ten Commandments the missionary had marked for him.  He very willingly gave his Bible to his brother.  Marciano read the book and was particularly impressed with the Ten Commandments.

Now, we must introduce into this narrative another character in the person of good Brother Madeiros.  Some time before this, having become interested in the gospel, he had gone to Bahia and had been instructed by Missionary Z. C. Taylor in the truth to such good purpose that he gave himself to the Lord.  His neighbors at Valenca, his native town, on learning of his having accepted Christ, drove him out, and he moved to Vargem Grande.  But he found no rest in his new home, for his fellow townsmen so persecuted him that he was compelled to live in the outskirts of the town.  He was the first believer in Vargem Grande.  When Marciano de Almeida became interested in the Scriptures he went to see Madeiros and was instructed by him in the gospel.  He told the persecuted saint that he would stand by him from now on, for Marciano had experienced a marvelous conversion.

On learning that his images were idols, Marciano collected all immediately and burnt them, greatly to the disgust of his family and the whole town.  He began at once to declare the Word of God, and though he was as gentle as a lamb, he was also as bold as a lion in defending the gospel.

When his brother, Captain Egydio de Almeida, who lived sixty miles away, learned that Marciano had become converted, he made the journey to take out of his brother’s heart the false teaching which he had imbibed.  He pitied his brother, thinking that Marciano’s mind had become unbalanced.  When Captain Egydio arrived at his brother’s in Vargem Grande, being a very positive man, he set about the business of straightening out his brother with dispatch and determination.  He failed in his purpose, and then called in a priest.  When he returned with the priest Marciano asked the two to be seated.  Immediately the priest inquired, “What is this I am hearing about you, Marciano?” He replied, “Mr. Priest, I am thirty-five years old and you never gave me the Bible, God’s Holy Law and as God ordered it.  I came by it through the Protestants whom you have always abused.  You have taken my money all these years for mass, saying you would take the souls of our kin out of a purgatory that does not exist.  You taught me to worship idols which God’s Word condemns.  You sprinkle my children for money, marry them for money, and when they die you still demand money to save their souls from an imaginary purgatory.  The Bible teaches me, on the other hand, that God offers me a free salvation through Jesus Christ.”  The priest rose and said good-bye without offering a word of explanation.  Seeing the priest thus defeated, Captain Egydio turned