The Old Man in the Crater
CHAPTER X
FRANCISCO’S GRADUATION AND TRIP TO MANILA
At last the day came when Francisco had completed his course in the provincial school and was ready to receive his certificate of graduation. The term closed on the twenty-seventh of March, and the principal had arranged for a great “fiesta” in honor of the occasion, consisting of music and addresses in the morning, athletic exercises in the afternoon, and a grand “baile” at night.
A temporary stage, erected by the boys of the manual training classes, was placed at the north end of the plaza, and long before the appointed hour the square was filled with gayly dressed women, and men in the whitest of suits, who walked about under the trees or sat on the green grass to await the commencement exercises.
Promptly at ten o’clock the procession issued from the front door of the schoolhouse, filed into the plaza, and took seats on the stage. The graduates sat in the center, the chief officials on their right, and the faculty of the school on their left. The school orchestra was stationed just in front of the stage, and as they finished playing “America,” the padre in his long black gown stepped forward and offered a short prayer, speaking in Bicol and Spanish so that his hearers might understand and follow him. Then came short addresses by the governor of the province, the major commanding the United States troops stationed at that post, the presidente of the town, and the division superintendent of schools, after which the principal presented the graduates with their certificates. Every one rose and stood while the orchestra played “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and Francisco’s high school days were at an end.
