The curate repented having said what he did, but now there was no alternative. He made a signal to his companion, who laboriously rose to his feet and both went out. The persons attached to the friars imitated the priests, not, however, without first glancing with hatred at Ibarra.
Murmurs and whispers increased. Then various persons approached and saluted the young man and said:
“We are with you. Take no notice of them.”
“Who are ’them’?” he asked with surprise.
“Those who have gone out in order to avoid contact with you.”
“To avoid contact with me? Contact with me?”
“Yes, they say that you are excommunicated.”
Ibarra, surprised, did not know what to say and looked around him. He saw Maria Clara, who was hiding her face behind her fan.
“But is it possible?” he exclaimed at last. “Are we still in the darkness of the Middle Ages? So that——”
And turning to the young women and changing his tone, he said: