“Then, sulung! (Go along). You brute! You ass!” And they gave him a shove.
“Do you know why Elias is tall, according to the alferez, and why he is short, according to the curate?” asked the Tagalog of the other.
“No.”
“Because the alferez was stuck in a mud hole when he observed him, and the curate was on foot when he saw him.”
“That’s right!” exclaimed the Visayan. “You are bright. Why are you a Guardia Civil?”
“I haven’t been always. I was a smuggler at one time,” replied the Tagalog boastingly.
But another form attracted their attention. They called out “Quien Vive?” and brought him up to the light. This time it was Elias himself.
“Where are you going?”
“I am pursuing, señor, a man who has whipped and threatened my brother. He has a scar on his face and his name is Elias——”
“Ha?” exclaimed the two, and looked at each other frightened.