Don Rafaels Death Don Rafael, his father, was a rich and brave man.

He defended a helpless boy from the brutality of an illiterate Spanish tax collector, pushing the latter and accidentally killing him. Don Rafael was thrown in prison, where he died unhappily. He was buried in consecrated ground, but his enemies, accusing him being a heretic, had his body removed from the cemetery. Sisa, Crispin, Basilio These boys were sacristanes (sextons) in the church, working for a small wage to support their poor mother. Crispin the younger of the two brothers was accused by the brutal sacristan mayor (chief sexton) of stealing the money of the priest. He was tortured in the convent and died. Basilio, with his brothers dying cries ringing in his ears, escaped. When the two boys did not return home, Sisa looked for them everywhere and, in her great sorrow, she became insane. Crocodile incident Elias bravely grappled with a crocodile which was caught in the fish corral. But the crocodile struggled furiously so that Elias could not subdue it. Ibarra jumped into the water and killed the crocodile, thereby saving Elias. Doa Victorina This woman had hallucinations of being a superior Castillan, and, although a native herself, she looked down on her own people as inferior beings. She mimics the Spanish ladies by putting heavy make-up. She added another de to her husbands surname in order to more Spanish. Thus she wanted to be called Doctora Doa Victorina de los Reyes de De Espadaa. Story of Elias Some 60 years ago, his grandfather, who was then a young bookkeeper in a Spanish commercial firm in Manila, was wrongly accused of burning the firms warehouse. He was flogged in public and was left in the street, crippled and almost died. His was pregnant, beg for alms and became a prostitute in order to support her sick husband and their son. After giving birth to her second son and the death of her husband, she fled, with her to sons to the mountains. Years later the first boy became a dreaded tulisan named Balat. He terrorized the provinces. One day he was caught by the authorities. His head was cut off and was hung from a tree branch in the forest. On seeing this gory object, the poor mother (Elias grandmother) died.

Balats younger brother, who was by nature kindhearted, fled and became a trusted laborer in the house of rich man in Tayabas. He fell in love with the masters daughter. The girls father, enraged by the romance, investigated his past and found out the truth. The unfortunate lover (Elias father) was sent to jail, while the girl gave birth to twins, a boy (Elias) and a girl. Their rich grandfather took care of them, keeping secret their scandalous origin, and reared them as rich children. Elias was educated in the JesuitCollege in Manila, while his sister studied in La Concordia College. They lived happily, until one day, owing to certain dispute over money matters, a distant relative exposed their shameful birth. They were disgraced. An old male servant, whom they used to abuse, was forced to testify in court and the truth came out that he was their real father. Elias and his sister left Tayabas to hide their shame in another place. One day the sister disappeared. Elias roamed from place to place, looking for her. He heard later that a girl answering to his sisters description, was found died on the beach of San Diego. Since then, Elias lived a vagabond life, wandering from province to province until he met Ibarra.