riars interfere. Will you tell me, Pecson, on
what you base your belief that the General has no judgment of his own?"

"I didn't say that, Sandoval," replied Pecson, grinning until he
exposed his wisdom-tooth. "For me the General has _his own_ judgment,
that is, the judgment of all those within his reach. That's plain!"

"You're dodging--cite me a fact, cite me a fact!" cried
Sandoval. "Let's get away from hollow arguments, from empty phrases,
and get on the solid ground of facts,"--this with an elegant
gesture. "Facts, gentlemen, facts! The rest is prejudice--I won't
call it filibusterism."

Pecson smiled like one of the blessed as he retorted, "There comes the
filibusterism. But can't we enter into a discussion without resorting
to accusations?"

Sandoval protested in a little extemporaneous speech, again demanding
facts.

"Well, not long ago there was a dispute between some private persons
and certain friars, and the acting Governor rendered a decision
that it should be settled by the Provincial of the Order concerned,"
replied Pecson, again breaking out into a laugh, as though he were
dealing with an insignificant matter, he cited names and dates,
and promised documents that would prove how justice was dispensed.

"But, on what ground, tell me this, on what ground can they refuse
permission for what plainly appears to be extremely useful and
necessary?" asked Sandoval.

Pecson shrugged his shoulders. "It's that it endangers the integrity
of the fatherland," he replied in the tone of a notary reading an
allegation.

"That's pretty good! What has the integrity of the fatherland to do
with the rules of syntax?"

"The Holy Mother Church has learned doctors--what do I know? Perhaps
it is feared that we may come to understand the laws so that we can
obey them. What will become of the Philippines on the day when we
understand one another?"

Sandoval did not relish the dialectic and jesting turn of the
conversation; along that path could rise no speech worth the
while. "Don't make a joke of things!" he exclaimed. "This is a
serious matter."

"The Lord deliver me from joking when there are friars concerned!"

"But, on what do you base--"

"On the fact that, the hours for the classes having to come at
night," continued Pecson in the same tone, as if he were quoting
known and recognized formulas, "there may be invoked as an obstacle
the immorality of the thing, as was done in the case of the school
at Malolo