It seemed to Placido that some one was twitching his ears. He recalled
the story of a cabeza de barangay in his town who, for having signed
a document that he did not understand, was kept a prisoner for months
and months, and came near to deportation. An uncle of Placido's,
in order to fix the lesson in his memory, had given him a severe
ear-pulling, so that always whenever he heard signatures spoken of,
his ears reproduced the sensation.

"Excuse me, but I can't sign anything without first understanding
what it's about."

"What a fool you are! If two _celestial carbineers_ have signed it,
what have you to fear?"

The name of _celestial carbineers_ inspired confidence, being, as it
was, a sacred company created to aid God in the warfare against the
evil spirit and to prevent the smuggling of heretical contraband into
the markets of the New Zion. [27]

Placido was about to sign to make an end of it, because he was in
a hurry,--already his classmates were reciting the _O Thoma_,--but
again his ears twitched, so he said, "After the class! I want to read
it first."

"It's very long, don't you see? It concerns the presentation of a
counter-petition, or rather, a protest. Don't you understand? Makaraig
and some others have asked that an academy of Castilian be opened,
which is a piece of genuine foolishness--"