that those thirty pesos had been lost in gambling or had fallen into
the water and been swallowed by a cayman."

The harvest was abundant and sold well, so Tales planned to build a
wooden house in the barrio of Sagpang, of the town of Tiani, which
adjoined San Diego.

Another year passed, bringing another good crop, and for this reason
the friars raised the rent to fifty pesos, which Tales paid in order
not to quarrel and because he expected to sell his sugar at a good
price.

"Patience! Pretend that the cayman has grown some," old Selo consoled
him.

That year he at last saw his dream realized: to live in the barrio of
Sagpang in a wooden house. The father and grandfather then thought of
providing some education for the two children, especially the daughter
Juliana, or Juli, as they called her, for she gave promise of being
accomplished and beautiful. A boy who was a friend of the family,
Basilio, was studying in Manila, and he was of as lowly origin as they.

But this dream seemed destined not to be realized. The first care the
community took when they saw the family prospering was to appoint as
cabeza de barangay its most industrious member, which left only Tano,
the son, who was only fourteen years old. The father was therefore
called _Cabesang_ Tales and had to order a sack coat, buy a felt hat,
and prepare to spend his money. In order to avoid any quarrel with
the curate or the government, he settled from his own pocket the
shortages in the tax-lists, paying for those who had died or moved