man and a priest can give no offense. I intend to live peaceably
while I remain in this country and I do not wish to have any trouble
with men who wear skirts. And, furthermore, I have found out that
the Father Provincial has evaded my orders in this matter. I asked
for the removal of that friar as a punishment. What was done? They
removed him, but they gave him another and much better town. 'Tricks
of the friars,' as they say in Spain."

But when His Excellency found himself alone he ceased to
smile. "Ah!" he sighed, "if the people were not so stupid they would
put a limit to their reverences. But every people deserves its fate,
and we are no different in this respect from the rest of the world."

Meanwhile Captain Tiago had concluded his conference with Father
Damaso, or rather Father Damaso had concluded it.

"I have already warned you!" said the Franciscan on taking his
leave. "You could have avoided all of this had you consulted with
me before, and, if you had not lied to me, when I asked you about
it. See to it that you do not do any more such foolish things, and
have faith in your godfather."

Captain Tiago took two or three steps towards the sala, meditating
and sighing. All at once, as if some good idea had struck him, he
ran to the oratory and put out the candles and the lamps which had
been lighted for Ibarra's protection.

"There is still time enough," he murmured, "for he has a long road
to travel."

CHAPTER VII

SAN DIEGO AND ITS PEOPLE.

Not far from the shores of the Laguna de Bay lies the town of San
Diego, surrounded by fertile fields and rice plantations. It exports
sugar, rice, coffee, and fruits, or sells them at ridiculously low
prices to the Chinese, who make large profits out of the credulity
and vices of the laborers.

When the sky was serene and the atmosphere clear, the boys used
to climb to the very peak of the old moss and vine covered church
tower. And what exclamations they would utter when, from that high
pinnacle, they looked out at the beautiful panorama that surrounded
them. There before them lay a great mass of roofs, some nipa, some
thatch, some zinc and some made out of the native grasses. And out of
that mass, which here and there gave way to an orchard or a garden,
every one of those boys could find his own little home, his own
little nest. To them everything was a landmark; every tamarind tree
with its light foliage, every cocoanut tree with its load of nu