The Gentlemen's Flock
As the night progresses, the Governor's mansion sparkles brighter with Chinese lanterns illuminating the front porch passing through the doorway. Inside the mansion, glowing chandeliers hanging in the reception hall set as the central piece of spectacle. At the center of the reception hall is where the orchestra is assembled for amusement, entertaining the guests with symphonies by Bach.
Iron refectories are arranged in rows covered with pastel colored table cloth weaved from pinya fiber. On the table top lay silver wares and glasses while wines and Hors d'oeuvre, set the tone for the main meals. These appetizers include Pate' Maison of duck livers, some salad bowls and pastries.
Teo reluctantly walks towards the long table where the Governor and the other gentlemen are settled. On the table, he sees Fray Luciano and Doctor Farin seated opposite each other, the Governor at the central high chair, Teniente Leon sits beside him. Across the long table sits Fray Felicimo, Jaro's curate, next to him is the Maestro de Obra, Don Joaquin. The Lieutenant Governor Don Antonio sits opposite Teniente Leon, beside Don Felipe and the town's surveyor, Segnor Juancho. Upon realizing the long table is already filled, Teo settles in the empty table next to other gentlemen along with some European consul guests.
"Gentlemen, the new Captain of the town of Pasi, Teniente Leon Salgado" the Governor greets the gentlemen on the table
The Lieutenant Governor leaps from his chair to personally greet the Lieutenant with a handshake.
"It was by the sympathetic recommendation of the kind hearted Fray Luciano that the brave Teniente is now the Captain-elect of their town," the Governor initiates a toast to honor the friar.
"Pasi has an anemia on eligible men, Don Federico," Fray Luciano pauses, "it is very fortunate that the Salgado bloodline is more than capable of leading the town,"
"I am a living testament of the new Captain's competency Padre. The gentleman was my deputy for years," Don Antonio proclaims proudly.
"The Lieutenant Governor is generous enough to impart to me his wisdom, I have learned so much being his Teniente de Sementeras," Teniente Leon answers back
"I have not been back to Pasi for quite a long time, tell me segnor, has your town joined in the sugar trade?" Padre Felicimo enquires
"Pasi has always been a rice haven, Padre," Teniente Leon responds
"And the producer of the most number of sacks of rice in the region, if I may add," Fray Luciano quips now sipping his cup of wine
"All because most of the neighboring towns no longer farm rice, they already progressed to sugar farming," Padre Felicimo interrupts
"That is actually beneficial to Pasi, Padre, they could even command the price of rice and control it greatly," Don Joaquin adds, the master builder
"Which could come in close to the tobacco monopoly, or even surpass it since rice is a basic commodity to the natives," Segnor Juancho asserts while puffing his tobacco
"Indeed, Segnor," Fray Luciano responds, "that is why I take pride in our town being the rice farming central. And that is also why, Padre, I conclude your use of the term 'progress' pertaining to sugar farming as oppose to rice farming is disputable"
"My apologies Gentlemen, I did not mean to start such tension, and my being inquisitive is out of curiosity," Padre Felicimo smiles
"Tell me, Padre, why did you think our town has to 'progress' to sugar faming?," Fray Luciano austerely enquires, pouring another cup of wine
"The Governor and his lifestyle can be the perfect example of how profitable the trade is, Padre," Padre Felicimo responds
"The Governor has twenty five horses in his stables. Also, the huge mansion that we can all attest to its grandeur, and couple more real estates that bear the name of the Governor," Segnor Juancho exclaims giving a nod at the Gobernadorcillo
"There is sweetness in sugar trade, indeed!" Don Joaquin proclaims
"Well, I agree that the Governor is in fact, wealthy, but tell me, didn't Jaro used be heavily invested on its textile industry?" Fray Luciano still austere
"That is right, for several decades it was," Don Joaquin answers
"Ah, the good old days of weaving!", the Governor interrupts, "We used to deploy local women in a huge factory with couple hundred of looms to produce fibers from pinya, jusi and sinamay"
"And almost every indian household had looms for weaving," Segnor Juancho adds
"Now, we can seldom find any trace of the once mighty weaving trade as if they just vanished all at once overnight! ," Fray Luciano proclaims
"Tell me, Padre, where are you getting at?" the Governor enquires sternly
"This 'progress' that the kind Padre Felicimo here claimed, came to be at the expense of the textile trade. I dare say that from the ashes of the weaving industry rises the sugar trade, which is actually saddening since a lucrative trade has to be scrapped in favor of a new trade which is still in its infancy. So tell me, where is progress if those period where one could have earned from producing textiles were instead spent cultivating sugarcane that will take its own time growing before being ready for harvest?"
Long silence comes after as everyone can be heard sipping and gulping wine, while some settles to puff their tobacco
"Padre, that is a valid question, but that is also the reason why it is called an endeavor, risks and uncertainty are part of it. The textile production also had a gradual development as in any other industries, Padre," Don Antonio responds
"And we could all be amicable to agree that rice farming is for Pasi and sugar trading is for Jaro," Teniente Leon answers with a smile
"It is so very diplomatic of you, Teniente" Padre Felicimo nods
"Your beloved sugarcane was an imported product, is that right Padre?," Fray Luciano interrupts
"There is no stopping the friar from Pasi" Doctor Farin bursts into laughter which receives a stabbing look from the friar
"That was right, Padre, an English nobleman, a Consul to the British Monarchy introduced it decades ago,"the Governor answers
"And this foreigner started the trade by giving you the seeds?, how about the machineries?, or the equipment used to extract the sugar?"
"It was through a loan from his firm, Loney & Ker Co. Padre," Segnor Juancho responds
"A loan with interest?" Fray Luciano looks at everyone around and receives a nod in agreement;
"What a clever foreigner, that English nobleman was! You see, the interest that you paid the Englishmen could have been your earnings solely" Fray Luciano sips another wine from his cup, "besides, the Lord forbids usury! doesn't anybody here knows that? As The Book of Deuteronomy says, 'You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it' and I cannot fathom how the curate of Jaro allowed the English man to proceed with the usury"
Padre Felicimo looks tense as he adjusts his collar before responding;
"The passage clearly states that 'You may charge a foreigner interest', didn't it?" Padre Felicimo pauses to look at everyone in their table, "having that as a basis then clearly, the English man did not disobey the law of the Lord, Padre," the priest smiles forcefully
"But the Englishman was also a Catholic, is that right?" Fray Luciano asks to which the other priest nods in agreement, "the passage clearly says 'you may not charge your brother interest,' Padre, had the English nobleman been a Jew then that would have been fine. Jews can lend on interest to Catholics; and Catholics can lend on interest on Jews"
"Padre, the Holy Bible also reminds us not to go against our brothers," Teniente Leon intervenes with a warm smile, "and we know clearly what happened when Cain went against Abel, did we not?"
The laughter that bursts after breaks the tension that has been building up in the gentlemen's long table. Padre Felicimo sighs heavily and rests his head down secretly eyeing the furious friar who is still sipping his cup of wine
"I agree with the lieutenant, we should not go against our brothers, most specially in times like this. The threat of the bandits residing in the wilderness up in the mountains is alarming as they are attacking towns and villages, and raiding sustenance for their gain," the Governor fills his cup with wine, "they are growing in numbers week after week, and if they are left undealt with, they could end up raiding Pasi, and worse, even Jaro. When that happens, imagine the reputation it will credit the bandits having to live off from rice and sugar from both towns "
"We had knowledge gathered through espionage which reveals the identity of those who are leading the bandits in red clothing who we call Los Que Llevan Rojo. A farmer who hailed from Tapaz named Macario Jucso is believed to be the group's head with his leadership supervised by an old woman, believed to be a babaylan," the Lieutenant Governor claims
"The babaylans have long been eradicated, Don Antonio," Padre Felicimo claims looking much tense than before
"Those pagan witches were stripped off their honors and were burned in stakes, some were fed to crocodiles at the onset of the inquisition. If there were still those hags hidden in the mountains, I would drag them myself with my bare hands, and I will torch them in the plaza for everyone to see," Fray Luciano quips
"You can save your strength for conducting the masses Padre for the old woman has long been dead. The old woman was ambushed at the foot of the Mountain Range of Igbalak, along with her hordes of female servants. The hag and her entourage was on their way to their pilgrimage with the babaylan being carried by her followers on a bamboo shaft. She was holding the truth about their group hidden until her last breaths" the Governor responds
"I was disappointed since I was personally waiting for her to turn herself into a wild beast, if she did so, she would have avenged the death of her backscratchers and she could have escaped easily. But the witch died still a disgusting hag," the Lieutenant Governor claims
"A religious group with no spiritual leader?" Padre Felicimo enquires
"I dare say those are just fanatics of their pagan religion who were all fooled by their beloved babaylan. I think we were giving them too much credit than they deserve," Fray Luciano still furious
"As much as we like to think of them as simply fanatics of their monistic idealism, Padre, but we still could not discount their ferociousness in battle. Though lacking in strategies, the men are highly skilled in bolo escrima, they were excellent in hand to hand combat that we have lost a number of cuadrilleros who are proven no match to these bolo wielding fighters. Add to it their belief in their amulets, which they call hapin, a prayer booklet of orations they believed to shield them. The combination of their fighting skills and their state of mind was proven to be fatal to our men"
"Teniente Leon once presented to me an interesting find with the bandits belongings which the civil guards raided from their lairs, along with these booklets was the Holy Bible. Although severely burned, it puzzled me until this day why these people, who are fanatics of their pagan beliefs would carry with them the Holy Bible, the very source of the new religion which they are opposing to with their blood?" Fray Luciano lights his tobacco
"And I concluded that they burning it must be their way of sending us a message," Teniente Leon responds
"I agree with the lieutenant, Padre" Padre Felicimo nods
"Gentlemen, I think the dinner is ready," Don Federico claims after which he gestures for the maid to bring in the sumptuous meal
Fray Luciano looks blankly at the dinner as he clasps his cup of wine with his left hand while the other hand is holding his tobacco.