. What a surprise for the captain!" Juan is very
glad at the decision of the crabs, and he sets out for the robbers'
house, always hoping to overtake the rear of the long procession of
crabs. He soon reaches home. He asks the robbers if the crabs have
arrived. When Juan finds out that not one of the naughty crabs obeyed
him, he blames himself for his quiet nature, and swears that he will
never trust a crab again. The captain asks him about the pots. Juan
tells him that they are all safe, and that the captain must thank him
for his wit in solving the problem of how to carry two dozen large
pots at the same time. All the robbers are eager to see what Juan's
scheme was. When they find out what Juan has done, and see the holes
in the bottom of all the pots, they cannot help laughing. The captain,
however, addresses Juan with all the epithets found in a common slang
dictionary. The captain now decides never to let Juan stay in the house
alone, and from that time on takes him with them on their expeditions.

Several days later the captain calls Juan one night, and tells him
to get ready, for they are going to rob a certain house. They go
through the forest, and soon come to a clearing, in the middle of
which stands a large nipa house. While they are still in the thicket,
the captain calls Juan to him, and says, "Juan, go into the silong
[97] of the house, and see if the people are awake. Now, remember,
if you feel something hot, it is a man; but if it is cold, it is a
bolo. Do you understand?" Juan answers, "Yes," and obediently goes
to the house, repeating to himself the orders of the captain. He
cautiously goes under the house, and looks around. After a while
something hot falls on his back. He quickly runs away, and begins
to cry, "Tao, tao!" ("Man, man!") All the robbers get frightened,
so they run away too. After a few minutes they come together. Seeing
that they are not pursued, the captain calls Juan, and says to him,
"Juan, why did you fool us? Nobody is pursuing us."

"Well," says Juan, "I followed your orders. You said that if I felt
something hot, it was a man; but if cold, it was a bolo. I went into
the silong. I looked up. There was a faint light, and I saw a large
mat outlined on the floor. As I was looking at it, a hot thing fell
on my back. Then I ran away to warn you."

"Let us see," says the captain impatiently, "what tao that is which has
fallen on your back." One of the robbers lights a match. The robber