The Reign of Greed - 20

in sight of the convento, she stopped and began to tremble.
"Let's go home, let's go home," she begged, holding her companion back.
Sister Bali had to take her by the arm and half drag her along,
reassuring her and telling her about the books of the friars. She
would not desert her, so there was nothing to fear. Padre Camorra
had other things in mind--Juli was only a poor country girl.
But upon arriving at the door of the convento, Juli firmly refused
to go in, catching hold of the wall.
"No, no," she pleaded in terror. "No, no, no! Have pity!"
"But what a fool--"
Sister Bali pushed her gently along, Juli, pallid and with wild
features, offering resistance. The expression of her face said that
she saw death before her.
"All right, let's go back, if you don't want to!" at length the good
woman exclaimed in irritation, as she did not believe there was any
real danger. Padre Camorra, in spite of all his reputation, would
dare do nothing before her.
"Let them carry poor Basilio into exile, let them shoot him on the
way, saying that he tried to escape," she added. "When he's dead,
then remorse will come. But as for myself, I owe him no favors,
so he can't reproach me!"
That was the decisive stroke. In the face of that reproach, with wrath
and desperation mingled, like one who rushes to suicide, Juli closed
her eyes in order not to see the abyss into which she was hurling
herself and resolutely entered the convento. A sigh that sounded
like the rattle of death escaped from her lips. Sister Bali followed,
telling her how to act.
That night comments were mysteriously whispered about certain events
which had occurred that afternoon. A girl had leaped from a window
of the convento, falling upon some stones and killing herself. Almost
at the same time another woman had rushed out of the convento to run
through the streets shouting and screaming like a lunatic. The prudent
townsfolk dared not utter any names and many mothers pinched their
daughters for letting slip expressions that might compromise them.
Later, very much later, at twilight, an old man came from a village
and stood calling at the door of the convento, which was closed and
guarded by sacristans. The old man beat the door with his fists and
with his head, while he littered cries stifled and inarticulate, like
those of a dumb person, until he was at length driven away by blows and
shoves. Then he made his way to the gobernadorcillo's house, but was
told that the gobernadorcillo was not there, he was at the convento;
he went to the Justice of the Peace, but neither was the Justice of
the Peace at home--he had been summoned to the convento; he went to
the teniente-mayor, but he too was at the convento; he directed his
steps to the barracks, but the lieutenant of the Civil Guard was at
the convento. The old man then returned to his village, weeping like a
child. His wails were heard in the middle of the night, causing men to
bite their lips and women to clasp their hands, while the dogs slunk
fearfully back into the houses with their tails between their legs.
"Ah, God, God!" said a poor woman, lean from fasting, "in Thy presence
there is no rich, no poor, no white, no black--Thou wilt grant us
justice!"
"Yes," rejoined her husband, "just so that God they preach is not a
pure invention, a fraud! They themselves are the first not to believe
in Him."
At eight o'clock in the evening it was rumored that more than
seven friars, proceeding from neighboring towns, were assembled in
the convento to hold a conference. On the following day, Tandang
Selo disappeared forever from the village, carrying with him his
hunting-spear.


CHAPTER XXXI
THE HIGH OFFICIAL

L'Espagne et sa, vertu, l'Espagne et sa grandeur
Tout s'en va!--Victor Hugo

The newspapers of Manila were so engrossed in accounts of a notorious
murder committed in Europe, in panegyrics and puffs for various
preachers in the city, in the constantly increasing success of the
French operetta, that they could scarcely devote space to the crimes
perpetrated in the provinces by a band of tulisanes headed by a fierce
and terrible leader who was called _Matanglawin._ [68] Only when the
object of the attack was a convento or a Spaniard there then appeared
long articles giving frightful details and asking for martial law,
energetic measures, and so on. So it was that they could take no notice
of what had occurred in the town of Tiani, nor was there the slightest
hint or allusion to it. In private circles something was whispered,
but so confused, so vague, and so little consistent, that not even
the name of the victim was known, while those who showed the greatest
interest forgot it quickly, trusting that the affair had been settled
in some way with the wronged family. The only one who knew anything
certain was Padre Camorra, who had to leave the town, to be transferred
to another or to remain for some time in the convento in Manila.
"Poor Padre Camorra!" exclaimed Ben-Zayb in a fit of generosity. "He
was so jolly and had such a good heart!"
It was true that the students had recovered their liberty, thanks to
the exertions of their relatives, who did not hesitate at expense,
gifts, or any sacrifice whatsoever. The first to see himself free, as
was to be expected, was Makaraig, and the last Isagani, because Padre
Florentine did not reach Manila until a week after the events. So
many acts of clemency secured for the General the title of clement
and merciful, which Ben-Zayb hastened to add to his long list of
adjectives.
The only one who did not obtain his liberty was Basilio, since he was
also accused of having in his possession prohibited books. We don't
know whether this referred to his text-book on legal medicine or to
the pamphlets that were found, dealing with the Philippines, or both
together--the fact is that it was said that prohibited literature
was being secretly sold, and upon the unfortunate boy fell all the
weight of the rod of justice.
It was reported that his Excellency had been thus advised: "It's
necessary that there be some one, so that the prestige of authority
may be sustained and that it may not be said that we made a great fuss
over nothing. Authority before everything. It's necessary that some
one be made an example of. Let there be just one, one who, according
to Padre Irene, was the servant of Capitan Tiago--there'll be no one
to enter a complaint--"
"Servant and student?" asked his Excellency. "That fellow, then! Let
it be he!"
"Your Excellency will pardon me," observed the high official, who
happened to be present, "but I've been told that this boy is a medical
student and his teachers speak well of him. If he remains a prisoner
he'll lose a year, and as this year he finishes--"
The high official's interference in behalf of Basilio, instead
of helping, harmed him. For some time there had been between this
official and his Excellency strained relations and bad feelings,
augmented by frequent clashes.
"Yes? So much the greater reason that he should be kept prisoner;
a year longer in his studies, instead of injuring him, will do good,
not only to himself but to all who afterwards fall into his hands. One
doesn't become a bad physician by extensive practise. So much the
more reason that he should remain! Soon the filibustering reformers
will say that we are not looking out for the country!" concluded his
Excellency with a sarcastic laugh.
The high official realized that he had made a false move and took
Basilio's case to heart. "But it seems to me that this young man is
the most innocent of all," he rejoined rather timidly.
"Books have been seized in his possession," observed the secretary.
"Yes, works on medicine and pamphlets written by Peninsulars, with
the leaves uncut, and besides, what does that signify? Moreover,
this young man was not present at the banquet in the _pansitería_,
he hasn't mixed up in anything. As I've said, he's the most innocent--"
"So much the better!" exclaimed his Excellency jocosely. "In that
way the punishment will prove more salutary and exemplary, since it
inspires greater terror. To govern is to act in this way, my dear
sir, as it is often expedient to sacrifice the welfare of one to the
welfare of many. But I'm doing more--from the welfare of one will
result the welfare of all, the principle of endangered authority is
preserved, prestige is respected and maintained. By this act of mine
I'm correcting my own and other people's faults."
The high official restrained himself with an effort and, disregarding
the allusion, decided to take another tack. "But doesn't your
Excellency fear the--responsibility?"
"What have I to fear?" rejoined the General impatiently. "Haven't
I discretionary powers? Can't I do what I please for the better
government of these islands? What have I to fear? Can some
menial perhaps arraign me before the tribunals and exact from me
responsibility? Even though he had the means, he would have to consult
the Ministry first, and the Minister--"
He waved his hand and burst out into laughter.
"The Minister who appointed me, the devil knows where he is, and
he will feel honored in being able to welcome me when I return. The
present one, I don't even think of him, and the devil take him too! The
one that relieves him will find himself in so many difficulties with
his new duties that he won't be able to fool with trifles. I, my dear
sir, have nothing over me but my conscience, I act according to my
conscience, and my conscience is satisfied, so I don't care a straw
for the opinions of this one and that. My conscience, my dear sir,
my conscience!"
"Yes, General, but the country--"
"Tut, tut, tut, tut! The country--what have I to do Avith the
country? Have I perhaps contracted any obligations to it? Do I owe
my office to it? Was it the country that elected me?"
A brief pause ensued, during which the high official stood with bowed
head. Then, as if reaching a decision, he raised it to stare fixedly
at the General. Pale and trembling, he said with repressed energy:
"That doesn't matter, General, that doesn't matter at all! Your
Excellency has not been chosen by the Filipino people, but by Spain,
all the more reason why you should treat the Filipinos well so that
they may not be able to reproach Spain. The greater reason, General,
the greater reason! Your Excellency, by coming here, has contracted
the obligation to govern justly, to seek the welfare--"
"Am I not doing it?" interrupted his Excellency in exasperation,
taking a step forward. "Haven't I told you that I am getting from the
good of one the good of all? Are you now going to give me lessons? If
you don't understand my actions, how am I to blame? Do I compel you
to share my responsibility?"
"Certainly not," replied the high official, drawing himself up
proudly. "Your Excellency does not compel me, your Excellency cannot
compel me, _me,_ to share _your_ responsibility. I understand mine in
quite another way, and because I have it, I'm going to speak--I've held
my peace a long time. Oh, your Excellency needn't make those gestures,
because the fact that I've come here in this or that capacity doesn't
mean that I have given up my rights, that I have been reduced to the
part of a slave, without voice or dignity.
"I don't want Spain to lose this beautiful empire, these eight
millions of patient and submissive subjects, who live on hopes and
delusions, but neither do I wish to soil my hands in their barbarous
exploitation. I don't wish it ever to be said that, the slave-trade
abolished, Spain has continued to cloak it with her banner and
perfect it under a wealth of specious institutions. No, to be great
Spain does not have to be a tyrant, Spain is sufficient unto herself,
Spain was greater when she had only her own territory, wrested from
the clutches of the Moor. I too am a Spaniard, but before being a
Spaniard I am a man, and before Spain and above Spain is her honor,
the lofty principles of morality, the eternal principles of immutable
justice! Ah, you are surprised that I think thus, because you have no
idea of the grandeur of the Spanish name, no, you haven't any idea of
it, you identify it with persons and interests. To you the Spaniard may
be a pirate, he may be a murderer, a hypocrite, a cheat, anything,
just so he keep what he has--but to me the Spaniard should lose
everything, empire, power, wealth, everything, before his honor! Ah,
my dear sir, we protest when we read that might is placed before right,
yet we applaud when in practise we see might play the hypocrite in
not only perverting right but even in using it as a tool in order to
gain control. For the very reason that I love Spain, I'm speaking now,
and I defy your frown!
"I don't wish that the coming ages accuse Spain of being the stepmother
of the nations, the vampire of races, the tyrant of small islands,
since it would be a horrible mockery of the noble principles of our
ancient kings. How are we carrying out their sacred legacy? They
promised to these islands protection and justice, and we are playing
with the lives and liberties of the inhabitants; they promised
civilization, and^we are curtailing it, fearful that they may aspire
to a nobler existence; they promised them light, and we cover their
eyes that they may not witness our orgies; they promised to teach them
virtue and we are encouraging their vice. Instead of peace, wealth,
and justice, confusion reigns, commerce languishes, and skepticism
is fostered among the masses.
"Let us put ourselves in the place of the Filipinos and ask ourselves
what we would do in their place. Ah, in your silence I read their
right to rebel, and if matters do not mend they will rebel some day,
and justice will be on their side, with them will go the sympathy
of all honest men, of every patriot in the world! When a people is
denied light, home, liberty, and justice--things that are essential
to life, and therefore man's patrimony--that people has the right to
treat him who so despoils it as we would the robber who intercepts us
on the highway. There are no distinctions, there are no exceptions,
nothing but a fact, a right, an aggression, and every honest man who
does not place himself on the side of the wronged makes himself an
accomplice and stains his conscience.
"True, I am not a soldier, and the years are cooling the little fire
in my blood, but just as I would risk being torn to pieces to defend
the integrity of Spain against any foreign invader or against an
unjustified disloyalty in her provinces, so I also assure you that I
would place myself beside the oppressed Filipinos, because I would
prefer to fall in the cause of the outraged rights of humanity to
triumphing with the selfish interests of a nation, even when that
nation be called as it is called--Spain!"
"Do you know when the mail-boat leaves?" inquired his Excellency
coldly, when the high official had finished speaking.
The latter stared at him fixedly, then dropped his head and silently
left the palace.
Outside he found his carriage awaiting him. "Some day when you declare
yourselves independent," he said somewhat abstractedly to the native
lackey who opened the carriage-door for him, "remember that there
were not lacking in Spain hearts that beat for you and struggled for
your rights!"
"Where, sir?" asked the lackey, who had understood nothing of this
and was inquiring whither they should go.
Two hours later the high official handed in his resignation and
announced his intention of returning to Spain by the next mail-steamer.


CHAPTER XXXII
EFFECT OF THE PASQUINADES

As a result of the events narrated, many mothers ordered their sons
immediately to leave off their studies and devote themselves to
idleness or to agriculture. When the examinations came, suspensions
were plentiful, and he was a rare exception who finished the course,
if he had belonged to the famous association, to which no one paid
any more attention. Pecson, Tadeo, and Juanito Pelaez were all alike
suspended--the first receiving his dismissal with his foolish grin
and declaring his intention of becoming an officer in some court,
while Tadeo, with his eternal holiday realized at last, paid for an
illumination and made a bonfire of his books. Nor did the others get
off much better, and at length they too had to abandon their studies,
to the great satisfaction of their mothers, who always fancy their sons
hanged if they should come to understand what the books teach. Juanito
Pelaez alone took the blow ill, since it forced him to leave school for
his father's store, with whom he was thenceforward to be associated
in the business: the rascal found the store much less entertaining,
but after some time his friends again noticed his hump appear,
a symptom that his good humor was returning. The rich Makaraig,
in view of the catastrophe, took good care not to expose himself,
and having secured a passport by means of money set out in haste for
Europe. It was said that his Excellency, the Captain-General, in his
desire to do good by good means, and careful of the interests of the
Filipinos, hindered the departure of every one who could not first
prove substantially that he had the money to spend and could live in
idleness in European cities. Among our acquaintances those who got off
best were Isagani and Sandoval: the former passed in the subject he
studied under Padre Fernandez and was suspended in the others, while
the latter was able to confuse the examining-board with his oratory.
Basilio was the only one who did not pass in any subject, who was
not suspended, and who did not go to Europe, for he remained in
Bilibid prison, subjected every three days to examinations, almost
always the same in principle, without other variation than a change of
inquisitors, since it seemed that in the presence of such great guilt
all gave up or fell away in horror. And while the documents moldered
or were shifted about, while the stamped papers increased like the
plasters of an ignorant physician on the body of a hypochondriac,
Basilio became informed of all the details of what had happened
in Tiani, of the death of Juli and the disappearance of Tandang
Selo. Sinong, the abused cochero, who had driven him to San Diego,
happened to be in Manila at that time and called to give him all
the news.
Meanwhile, Simoun had recovered his health, or so at least the
newspapers said. Ben-Zayb rendered thanks to "the Omnipotent who
watches over such a precious life," and manifested the hope that the
Highest would some day reveal the malefactor, whose crime remained
unpunished, thanks to the charity of the victim, who was too closely
following the words of the Great Martyr: _Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do._ These and other things Ben-Zayb said in
print, while by mouth he was inquiring whether there was any truth in
the rumor that the opulent jeweler was going to give a grand fiesta,
a banquet such as had never before been seen, in part to celebrate
his recovery and in part as a farewell to the country in which he had
increased his fortune. It was whispered as certain that Simoun, who
would have to leave with the Captain-General, whose command expired
in May, was making every effort to secure from Madrid an extension,
and that he was advising his Excellency to start a campaign in order to
have an excuse for remaining, but it was further reported that for the
first time his Excellency had disregarded the advice of his favorite,
making it a point of honor not to retain for a single additional day
the power that had been conferred upon him, a rumor which encouraged
belief that the fiesta announced would take place; very soon. For
the rest, Simoun remained unfathomable, since he had become very
uncommunicative, showed himself seldom, and smiled mysteriously when
the rumored fiesta was mentioned.
"Come, Señor Sindbad," Ben-Zayb had once rallied him, "dazzle us with
something Yankee! You owe something to this country."
"Doubtless!" was Simoun's response, with a dry smile.
"You'll throw the house wide open, eh?"
"Maybe, but as I have no house--"
"You ought to have secured Capitan Tiago's, which Señor Pelaez got
for nothing."
Simoun became silent, and from that time on he was often seen in the
store of Don Timoteo Pelaez, with whom it was said he had entered
into partnership. Some weeks afterward, in the month of April, it was
rumored that Juanito Pelaez, Don Timoteo's son, was going to marry
Paulita Gomez, the girl coveted by Spaniards and foreigners.
"Some men are lucky!" exclaimed other envious merchants. "To buy a
house for nothing, sell his consignment of galvanized iron well,
get into partnership with a Simoun, and marry his son to a rich
heiress--just say if those aren't strokes of luck that all honorable
men don't have!"
"If you only knew whence came that luck of Señor Pelaez's!" another
responded, in a tone which indicated that the speaker did know. "It's
also assured that there'll be a fiesta and on a grand scale," was
added with mystery.
It was really true that Paulita was going to marry Juanito Pelaez. Her
love for Isagani had gradually waned, like all first loves based
on poetry and sentiment. The events of the pasquinades and the
imprisonment of the youth had shorn him of all his charms. To whom
would it have occurred to seek danger, to desire to share the fate
of his comrades, to surrender himself, when every one was hiding and
denying any complicity in the affair? It was quixotic, it was madness
that no sensible person in Manila could pardon, and Juanito was quite
right in ridiculing him, representing what a sorry figure he cut when
he went to the Civil Government. Naturally, the brilliant Paulita
could no longer love a young man who so erroneously understood social
matters and whom all condemned. Then she began to reflect. Juanito was
clever, capable, gay, shrewd, the son of a rich merchant of Manila,
and a Spanish mestizo besides--if Don Timoteo was to be believed,
a full-blooded Spaniard. On the other hand, Isagani was a provincial
native who dreamed of forests infested with leeches, he was of doubtful
family, with a priest for an uncle, who would perhaps be an enemy to
luxury and balls, of which she was very fond. One beautiful morning
therefore it occurred to her that she had been a downright fool to
prefer him to his rival, and from that time on Pelaez's hump steadily
increased. Unconsciously, yet rigorously, Paulita was obeying the
law discovered by Darwin, that the female surrenders herself to the
fittest male, to him who knows how to adapt himself to the medium in
which he lives, and to live in Manila there was no other like Pelaez,
who from his infancy had had chicanery at his finger-tips. Lent passed
with its Holy Week, its array of processions and pompous displays,
without other novelty than a mysterious mutiny among the artillerymen,
the cause of which was never disclosed. The houses of light materials
were torn down in the presence of a troop of cavalry, ready to fall
upon the owners in case they should offer resistance. There was a
great deal of weeping and many lamentations, but the affair did not
get beyond that. The curious, among them Simoun, went to see those
who were left homeless, walking about indifferently and assuring each
other that thenceforward they could sleep in peace.
Towards the end of April, all the fears being now forgotten, Manila
was engrossed with one topic: the fiesta that Don Timoteo Pelaez was
going to celebrate at the wedding of his son, for which the General
had graciously and condescendingly agreed to be the patron. Simoun
was reported to have arranged the matter. The ceremony would
be solemnized two days before the departure of the General, who
would honor the house and make a present to the bridegroom. It was
whispered that the jeweler would pour out cascades of diamonds and
throw away handfuls of pearls in honor of his partner's son, thus,
since he could hold no fiesta of his own, as he was a bachelor and
had no house, improving the opportunity to dazzle the Filipino people
with a memorable farewell. All Manila prepared to be invited, and
never did uneasiness take stronger hold of the mind than in view of
the thought of not being among those bidden. Friendship with Simoun
became a matter of dispute, and many husbands were forced by their
wives to purchase bars of steel and sheets of galvanized iron in
order to make friends with Don Timoteo Pelaez.


CHAPTER XXXIII
LA ULTIMA RAZÓN [69]

At last the great day arrived. During the morning Simoun had not left
his house, busied as he was in packing his arms and his jewels. His
fabulous wealth was already locked up in the big steel chest with its
canvas cover, there remaining only a few cases containing bracelets
and pins, doubtless gifts that he meant to make. He was going to leave
with the Captain-General, who cared in no way to lengthen his stay,
fearful of what people would say. Malicious ones insinuated that Simoun
did not dare remain alone, since without the General's support he did
not care to expose himself to the vengeance of the many wretches he
had exploited, all the more reason for which was the fact that the
General who was coming was reported to be a model of rectitude and
might make him disgorge his gains. The superstitious Indians, on the
other hand, believed that Simoun was the devil who did not wish to
separate himself from his prey. The pessimists winked maliciously and
said, "The field laid waste, the locust leaves for other parts!" Only
a few, a very few, smiled and said nothing.
In the afternoon Simoun had given orders to his servant that if there
appeared a young man calling himself Basilio he should be admitted
at once. Then he shut himself up in his room and seemed to become
lost in deep thought. Since his illness the jeweler's countenance had
become harder and gloomier, while the wrinkles between his eyebrows
had deepened greatly. He did not hold himself so erect as formerly,
and his head was bowed.
So absorbed was he in his meditations that he did not hear a knock
at the door, and it had to be repeated. He shuddered and called out,
"Come in!"
It was Basilio, but how altered! If the change that had taken place
in Simoun during those two months was great, in the young student it
was frightful. His cheeks were hollow, his hair unkempt, his clothing
disordered. The tender melancholy had disappeared from his eyes,
and in its place glittered a dark light, so that it might be said
that he had died and his corpse had revived, horrified with what it
had seen in eternity. If not crime, then the shadow of crime, had
fixed itself upon his whole appearance. Simoun himself was startled
and felt pity for the wretch.
Without any greeting Basilio slowly advanced into the room, and in
a voice that made the jeweler shudder said to him, "Señor Simoun,
I've been a wicked son and a bad brother--I've overlooked the murder
of one and the tortures of the other, and God has chastised me! Now
there remains to me only one desire, and it is to return evil for evil,
crime for crime, violence for violence!"
Simoun listened in silence, while Basilio continued; "Four months ago
you talked to me about your plans. I refused to take part in them,
but I did wrong, you have been right. Three months and a half ago
the revolution was on the point of breaking out, but I did not then
care to participate in it, and the movement failed. In payment for
my conduct I've been arrested and owe my liberty to your efforts
only. You are right and now I've come to say to you: put a weapon
in my hand and let the revolution come! I am ready to serve you,
along with all the rest of the unfortunates."
The cloud that had darkened Simoun's brow suddenly disappeared, a ray
of triumph darted from his eyes, and like one who has found what he