lt. But the same arguments also served the
father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinao with the greatest
watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumulay fired the edifice, when the
soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as
well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God,
and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending
to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and
most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it
was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.

7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic
tidings were not known in Bolinao of the insurrection, and only
various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked
fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack
of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month,
the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simulay and
his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In
front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father
Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of
them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries
by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simulay thought that that
would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the
village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers
mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in
his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion,
and Indian chiefs were not wanting who supported him, either because
they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to
assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal,
the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to
God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the
sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered
the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree
of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the
atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave
them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him,
he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to
suffer a thousand martyrdoms. "I am not ignorant," he said, "that
the aim of those who occasion these insurr