She is not the daughter of Capitán Tiago but of Father Damaso—an illegitimate daughter.
Satisfied that she is innocent, Ibarra now consents to escape from his foes. Elias, the pilot, who has so often befriended him, is waiting below in the banca. They row up the Pasig River. When they approach a soldier, Ibarra hides himself in the bottom of the boat under the freight. At last the Civil Guards are in pursuit. Elias tries to escape by hard rowing. The Guards begin to fire. Elias slips overboard. Taking him for Ibarra, the Guards follow in their banca, firing constantly. The hunted man is seen to sink. When the Guards come up they think they see blood. They take the news back to Manila that Ibarra, the desperate revolutionist, trying to escape, has been shot and killed. At the word Maria Clara gives up all earthly hope and flees to a nunnery. [[118]]
[1] To western readers this will seem impossible. There are, however, attested instances of the savage practice. [↑]
[2] A vein of strange coincidence that seems almost like some intuition runs through Rizal’s novels. What happened to the ashes of the elder Ibarra in the story is exactly what happened a few years later to the ashes of Rizal’s brother-in-law. [↑]
[3] “The letter enters with the blood.” This was the favorite motto of Dr. Cruz, master of the school at Biñan, the first that Rizal attended. The protest here against corporal punishment in schools is doubtless sharpened from Rizal’s own experiences. [↑]
[4] “Noli Me Tangere,” Chap. XIX, Derbyshire’s translation. [↑]
[5] “Noli Me Tangere,” Chap. L, Derbyshire’s translation. [↑]