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On the Picaros guide, it says
# On page 23, frame 10, Tintin says "Hello, surely that isn't Manolo's voice?", even though he has never been introduced to Manolo, since he arrived much later than Haddock and Calculus. They were introduced to their "servant" Manolo on page 15, frame 1. [Martin Zechner]

Tintin had been in Tapiocapolis (sp?) for three days, as Tintin arrived the day Haddock got the tobacco

I noticed that fact for the first time when I was 8 (1994). I assumed that during the preceding three days (that looks right) Tintin was already introduced to Manolo the way Captain Haddock and Calculus were (perhaps day one?). In retrospect, I have noted that since Tintin was normally very opinionated, he would have initially had a neutral attitude towards Manolo (big contrast to Captain's Haddock's "He looks like a thug!"). So Tintin's first meeting with that character would not have pushed the plot in the same way Haddock's encounter did.

As for why it took Tintin so long to realize that Manolo's voice might have been Pablo's, there is nothing unusual about Tintin taking his time. He doesn't always see things the first time around. But when Tintin's curiousity finally gets the better of him in this frame, that is when he actually takes action, and important, plot-pushing "information" is revealed. Herge is very careful about the pictures he chooses; each one has a purpose!

I therefore think that there probably wasn't an error in the story...