In this sense, "conto" is short for conto de réis, a money of account worth one million réis, or a thousand milreis, written 1:000$000, with a colon after the millions. People spoke of "five contos" or "ten contos" for large sums. It is not the conto as a short story: here the word deals with money.
Where It Appears
- Chapters I to XII: Humanitas and the Philosopher's Death
- Chapters XIII to XXVIII: The Inheritance and Rubião's Temptation
- Chapters LVIII to LXVII: The Atalaia, the Rescue, and Maria Benedita
- Chapters CIII to CXIII: The Returned Letter and the Ten Contos
- Chapters CXIV to CXVIII: The Engagement of Maria Benedita
- Chapters CXXXIII to CXLVII: Dinner Guests, Tijuca, and the Imperial Beard
- Chapters CLXXXII to CCI: Madness, Abandonment, and Rubião's Death