“Tell me, little friend,” he asked, “is Maria angry with me?”
“I don’t know, but she says that it’s better for you to forget her, then she begins to cry. Capitan Tiago wants her to marry that man. So does Padre Damaso, but she doesn’t say either yes or no. This morning when we were talking about you and I said, ‘Suppose he has gone to make love to some other girl?’ she answered,
‘Would that he had!’ and began to cry.”
Ibarra became grave. “Tell Maria that I want to talk with her alone.”
“Alone?” asked Sinang, wrinkling her eyebrows and staring at him.
“Entirely alone, no, but not with that fellow present.”
“It’s rather difficult, but don’t worry, I’ll tell her.”
“When shall I have an answer?”
“Tomorrow come to my house early. Maria doesn’t want to be left alone at all, so we stay with her. Victoria sleeps with her one night and I the other, and tonight it’s my turn. But listen, your secret? Are you going away without telling me?”
“That’s right! I was in the town of Los Baños. I’m going to develop some coconut-groves and I’m thinking of putting up an oil-mill. Your father will be my partner.”
“Nothing more than that? What a secret!” exclaimed Sinang aloud, in the tone of a cheated usurer. “I thought—”
“Be careful! I don’t want you to make it known!”
“Nor do I want to do it,” replied Sinang, turning up her nose. “If it were something more important, I would tell my friends. But to buy coconuts!
Coconuts! Who’s interested in coconuts?” And with extraordinary haste she ran to join her friends.
A few minutes later Ibarra, seeing that the interest of the party could only languish, took his leave. Capitan Tiago wore a bitter-sweet look, Linares was silent and watchful, while the curate with assumed cheerfulness talked of indifferent matters. None of the girls had reappeared.
Chapter LII
The Cards of the Dead and the Shadows
The moon was hidden in a cloudy sky while a cold wind, precursor of the approaching December, swept the dry leaves and dust about in the narrow pathway leading to the cemetery. Three shadowy forms were conversing in low tones under the arch of the gateway.
“Have you spoken to Elias?” asked a voice.
“No, you know how reserved and circumspect he is. But he ought to be one of us. Don Crisostomo saved his life.”
“That’s why I joined,” said the first voice. “Don Crisostomo had my wife cured in the house of a doctor in Manila. I’ll look after the convento to settle some old scores with the curate.”
“And we’ll take care of the barracks to show the civil-guards that our father had sons.”
“How many of us will there be?”
“Five, and five will be enough. Don Crisostomo’s servant, though, says there’ll be twenty of us.”
“What if you don’t succeed?”
“Hist!” exclaimed one of the shadows, and all fell silent.
In the semi-obscurity a shadowy figure was seen to approach, sneaking along by the fence. From time to time it stopped as if to look back. Nor was reason for this movement lacking, since some twenty paces behind it came another figure, larger and apparently darker than the first, but so lightly did it touch the ground
that it vanished as rapidly as though the earth had swallowed it every time the first shadow paused and turned.
“They’re following me,” muttered the first figure. “Can it be the civil-guards?
Did the senior sacristan lie?”
“They said that they would meet here,” thought the second shadow. “Some mischief must be on foot when the two brothers conceal it from me.”
At length the first shadow reached the gateway of the cemetery. The three who were already there stepped forward.
“Is that you?”
“Is that you?”
“We must scatter, for they’ve followed me. Tomorrow you’ll get the arms and tomorrow night is the time. The cry is, ‘Viva Don Crisostomo!’ Go!”
The three shadows disappeared behind the stone walls. The later arrival hid in the hollow of the gateway and waited silently. “Let’s see who’s following me,”
he thought.
The second shadow came up very cautiously and paused as if to look about him.
“I’m late,” he muttered, “but perhaps they will return.”
A thin fine rain, which threatened to last, began to fall, so it occurred to him to take refuge under the gateway. Naturally, he ran against the other.
