This first victory, won by the insurgents, gave them greatencouragement and Agonoy was publicly commended by the general. Itis still remembered that when this occurred the young officer firstblushed fiery red and then broke into tears.
The day following the Americans undertook by daylight the thing whichthey had before tried at night. But they began in a little differentway. They were seen to dump some rafts into the river over a highbank, and then two men, stripped to the skin, dived into the streamand began to swim across. The insurgents peppered at them, while theAmericans from the other shore shot at every head among the Filipinosthat showed itself. Bullets splashed on all sides of the swimmers,but none took effect. As they drew to shore they were protected bythe bank, the Filipinos being unable to fire at them because of thusexposing themselves. Then it was seen that they had borne a cableacross the stream. It became apparent that the intention was to hitchit so some object on the Filipino side of the river and thus form ameans of propelling the rafts across the stream. But the two naked,unarmed white men, alone on the Filipino side of the Rio Grande,were unable to find a place to which to hitch. Daubed with dirt andglistening with the water, they raced back and forth under protectionof the bank, looking for stump or tree, but in vain.
"There is a stump in the rifle pit, up there," remarked one.
"We must hitch to that," said the other. "Make you some mud balls."
They scooped up mud from the river and hugged to their breasts theballs of filth as they started to climb the banks directly ahead ofthem. Meantime the American soldiers fired over their heads. As theyarose over the bank and stood erect looking into the rifle pits, theybegan throwing the mud balls. The first one struck Agonoy full in theface, and the young commander, with eyes and mouth full of dirt, beganclawing at the mud and retreating. The natives, seeing this, and notknowing the nature of the new weapon, broke into a run and retreated.
Meantime a raft had started across the stream, with two men andthe clothing and guns of the men who were now tying the cable tothe stump. When midstream the rope slipped and the raft upset,precipitating all in the water. The two men reached shore, but theclothing of the men who had swum the river was lost. Other rafts wereon the way. Before Agonoy could rally the natives, a small force ofAmericans had crossed over.
Then began an opera bouffe charge; naked and begrimed Americans andmen in khaki against naked and half-clothed representatives of a halfa dozen races! And as the Americans came on a run they broke into acollege yell:
Rock chalk, Jay hawk, Chicken hawk, Tommy hawk, K. U.!
There was a peculiar laughable twist on the "U." that added to thegrotesqueness of the incident.
By this time they were reinforced by a small body of men who hadcrossed the bridge on the girders, and as these came up yellingother college yells and firing as rapidly as possible, at nothing,the Filipinos, in utter consternation, broke ranks and fled.
In the course of a few hours, however, Saguanaldo, who understoodthe lay of the country thoroughly, had again brought his forces intoorder and had forded the river a little lower down. He was now onthe side of the stream nearest Manila, while the Americans, after allhad crossed and they had leisurely partaken of dinner, were huntinghim further in the interior. It had been a bloodless battle, withthe victory apparently on one side and yet the advantage decidedlyon the side of the defeated.
After the troops had been collected Saguanaldo called Agonoy to himand said:
"The honors of the first encounter belong to you. Name the rewardyou desire."
"All I wish is to serve my country further," replied the youth withanother blush. "Permit me to go ahead to Manila and inform you howto take the city."
"Another should accompany you, so that if something happens to onethe other may escape."
"Permit me to go to spy out the land," asked Bishop Aglipay.
"You, Bishop?"
"Yes. Let each go in his own way and alone. Then we can report andwill not be in collusion."
"Does that suit you, Se?or Agonoy?"
"I shall be satisfied. If we can wreak vengeance on the bishop'senemy, the Jesuit, I shall be repaid for all dangers and sufferingthat may ensue."
"Then go, and success attend your efforts," returned Saguanaldo. Andhe looked on the youth with searching eyes that for a third timecaused Agonoy to blush.
XV.
WORLD POLITICS.
"I'm going to invite Judge Daft to occupy this convento," suggestedVioleta to Bishop Lonzello, a few days after he arrived.
"You will do nothing of the kind," replied the bishop. "It is alittle too much, you coming here and ordering us from the islands;but, as if this was not sufficient, now you want us to give up ourdormitories. I may yield the land for the good of the church, but Iam not going to stand this individual insult from a stranger."
"Oh, be reasonable," persuaded the Jesuit. "I am doing it solely foryour good. You will get the rental for it, and a republic is neverniggardly in such matters. The convento is really the only suitablebuilding in Manila for the purpose, and we can use the tender ofit in cementing a very valuable pact. Depend on it, you will losenothing by it. Another thing"--
"Nombre de Dios! Is there anything else?"
"Of course there is. We must syndicate the friar lands."
"I do not understand."
"If the United States undertakes to deal with the friars asindividuals, it will be able to handle them to its notion. But bycombining the 1,500 owners in a syndicate where half a dozen havethe full control of things, we can dictate terms. You can see theadvantage of this. It is the modern way of doing business. You managedthe seizure of the churches well; now you must organize the friarsfor purpose of selling their lands advantageously."
The two priests discussed the matter further, and though Lonzellowas bitter against the Jesuit and in his heart resented the new orderthat was being installed, he saw the force of the arguments, and erelong started on a trip through Luzon for the purpose of organizingthe syndicate. During his absence the Jesuit took occasion to tenderthe convento to Judge Daft and to point out its superiority for theprivate uses of the new officials. The argument was valid, because theconvento was the best residence property in Manila. The Jesuit wentfurther and offered not only the church property in Manila, but alsoin Malalos and throughout all the Philippines. Judge Daft argued withhis conscience, against his inclination to have the use of the best,and ultimately accepted the offer. With the American governor housedin the convento where the Jesuit lived, meetings became informal andfrequent. The two drove together in the evenings along the Plaza deGotta. They played golf together of afternoons. They met and talkedas friends; and the papal nuncio constantly and persistently employedthe power of suggestion for developing his plan.
"I do not think we can elect you president short of eight to twelveyears, but it will come some day," he told Daft while at golf. Smallbusiness is transacted in the shops, larger in offices, and thegreatest business of the world is forwarded at social gatherings andin games.
"I supposed I was to be elected next week," suggested the governor,facetiously.
"No, the people of America will probably demand a military manfirst. There is such a one who begins to loom up as a possibility, andhe understands the situation thoroughly. Besides, he is not so timidas the present president. The latter means well, but he will not actuntil he is pushed into action, while in adopting new policies, suchas are coming up now, we need a bold man. You want to keep your eyeon Colonel Rosefield. We have had our eyes on him and he understandsit. We mean to see that he has a military record manufactured for him,so he can run for president. After him comes Judge Daft."
"You Jesuits are too deep politicians for me."
"You will at least admit we are not dreamers, Judge. I am in earnest inwhat I say. No man in the service in Cuba has received the advertisingso far that this Co
lonel Rosefield has had, and there is a reason forit. He will emerge from the war the central hero of it all, even if wehave to make him the winner of a battle where he was not present. Morehistory is made by well circulated reports than there is by deeds."
The Judge laughed: "I wonder if you intend to circulate reportsabout me."
"That depends. If you do justice by us, we will see to the advertising,all right."
"What do you mean by justice?"
"Well, the Holy See is doing you inestimable service in withdrawing theSpanish friars from the Philippines, because it is thus removing thevery source of the quarrel and enabling you to gain a world reputationby accomplishing within a few years that which the Spanish governmentfailed to accomplish in three centuries. That is a good start towardthe presidency."
"It seems you have tricked me into payment for that service, whichI freely acknowledge, because you have used the order that thosein possession of church property shall be maintained in possessionof that property to your advantage, by seizing on all the propertybefore the American troops arrived on the scene."
"A mere act of justice. That property belonged to the holy churchbefore the schism took it away, and we have merely done to the schismwhat it first did to us. This is, therefore, a mere act of reparation;but we are not ungrateful to you that you have made it possible."
The judge was secretly troubled at the part he had played. It was notin accord with his conception of right. But he readily saw that itwas good politics, played for him by a power he did not understand. Heventured to say:
"I wish to do exact justice by you, and no more."
"We shall ask no more. In a sense the church in general has hadreparation; but what about the friars?"
"I do not understand."
"His holiness, the Pope, can not banish them and thus leave thefield clear for you, unless they can be remunerated for the landsthey hold--not the churches, which belong to Rome, but the lands,which belong to the friars. It is a matter of justice to pay them fortheir property, and it would be of inestimable benefit to the UnitedStates to get rid of this troublesome element."
"I understand the ground on which these churches were built belongedto the Spanish government, and that the government contributedconsiderable cash besides toward their erection. This being the case,the churches will belong to the United States after we shall haveacquired the Philippines, and you would owe the federal governmentfor them."
"If the Spanish government gave the lands and donations to the churchthey ceased to belong to Spain. You Americans would not claim againland that had been patented to settlers. The churches belong toRome, where all titles to church property are vested. You will haveto settle with Rome for them. The land belongs to the friars, who,as agents of Spain, developed the country and paid for the land. Youwill have to settle with the friars for them if you would banish thattroublesome element."
"The Malalos convention declared them fortified to the Philippinerepublic."
"Can you recognize that republic? You know you dare not do it."
Daft understood that; after a pause he inquired.
"What are the lands worth?"
"They have not been appraised, but I would estimate their value atfrom twelve to fifteen millions of American money."
"It seems to me pretty high."
"On the contrary, it is reasonable, considering the cost it would beto America to settle the trouble with the friars still here."
"It seems to me you are faring pretty well, considering that you haverestored to you the churches that were in revolt."
"You will win with the friars gone, but there are a number of thingsthat will have to be settled by arbitration after the war is over. Youmust act as America's representative to the Pope."
Judge Daft started back in astonishment.
"It is impossible. It is against the policy of the United States torecognize the temporal power of the Pope by sending an ambassador tothe Vatican."
"Nonsense. This war will make it necessary. You may disguise himunder the name of agent, if you will, but a representative willbecome a necessity. It would be a big thing for you to be thatrepresentative. You must have your picture taken with the Pope."
The boldness of the declaration again startled Judge Daft.
"You do not know the temper of the American people. They would notstand for it."
"It would give you two million Catholic votes and make your electionas president an assured thing. It is big politics we are playingthese days, and you might as well be in on it as anyone."
"But can you make good?"
"Didn't your national chairman declare that the only power thatcould save America from Socialism was the Catholic church? Did notthe Catholic vote go to your present national executive, for thefirst time in history that the republican party got that vote? Youare asked only to follow the policy set by your party, and to reapthe result in honors and power. Why do you suppose the head of thechurch deserted Spain in this war, when Spain is a Catholic country,and has been on the side of the Protestant United States, if he did notexpect recognition of his services? Do you not suppose we understoodfrom the time the Maine was blown up that the people might be arousedto start this war? The hierarchy is hereafter to be a dominatingpower in America, and you are to be president. It is a big thought,and you must think over it, Judge."
The Judge did think over it and the apostolic nuncio kept from hispresence several days in order to give him opportunity to ponder thesubject. When next the two men met the chastened attitude of JudgeDaft and his evident desire to be agreeable was to the discerningJesuit ample proof that the leaven was working.
"I do not know," he added to himself, "but that the fine, boldmaterial we are getting on our side may necessitate the removal ofthe good-hearted old man who rules but fears to move. We dare notwait too long when plans are ripe and boldness is necessary."
XVI.
THE SCHISM BURIED.
A few mornings after this the apostolic nuncio was walking along thecalzada by the coast, musing over his plans, when he chanced uponthree American soldiers with a Filipino prisoner. He was inclined topass on with only a cursory glance, but his ever-alert mind, alwaysspurred to observation, prompted to closer scrutiny. Then he saw thatthe soldiers were drunk. This was not important in his eye, because,under the canteen system inaugurated by the American government,and the influence of the tropics working on the nerves of the boysso far from home, and of the Filipino beverage, vino, drinking wasrather common with the soldiers. Indeed, the tropics were playinghavoc with the morals of the youth in khaki.
Kipling has thus expressed the languorous feeling that gets into thebones in the tropics:
Ship me somewhere east of Suez where the best is like the worst, Where there aren't no Ten Commandments, an a man can raise a thirst; For the temple-bells are callin' an' it's there that I would be-- By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea-- On the road to Mandalay, Where the old Flotilla lay, With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay! Oh, the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin'-fishes play, An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the bay! When the mist was on the rice fields an' the sun was droppin' slow, She'd git 'er little banjo an she' sing 'Kulla-lo-lo!' With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek agin my cheek, We uster watch the steamers and the hathis pilin' teak.
Vino, that decoction from the cocoanut which in time crazes thedrinker and makes him run amuck, had been getting in its work onthe Americans, and they were more or less beside themselves evennow. Besides, insidious fever, the mali-mali, which weakens the will,leaving the victim chiflado, ready to imitate the movements of anywho pass; the almost constant vibration of the soil that tells so onAmerican nerves; the absence from home and accountability to civilizedrestraints; the enervating tropics that seemed to tingle in their veinsand vanish, make them devilish; and the daily sight of half-nakedwomen, whose ideals of morality were tropical rather than American,were telling on the
habits of many a homesick mother's boy. ThePhilippines became a hot-bed in which erotic passions developed intonational scandals. The nuncio himself, with grim desire to strike atthe Americans when it profited his cause to do so, had procured thelicensing and inspection of bawds, under sanction of the Americangovernor, the fees for inspection going to church charities. So thesights of drunken American soldiers did not even interest him.
But there was something about the prisoner that was striking. Hisvery bearing, his mannerism, his cut of tie and clothing proclaimedhim to be a priest. If he was a Roman priest, the nuncio felt he mustrescue him; if he was an Aglipayan priest, then he might gratify onhim the cruel desire to torment which is born in some and which hehad fostered by feeding. He determined to put the matter to an instanttest by a bold stroke. So he approached the prisoner, crossing himselfand saying:
"As I live, if this is not Dr. Maximo Voliva, born Aglipay."
It was a venture, but it struck home.
"And you are that devil, Violeta, who has robbed us already of ourchurches. I am not pleased to form your acquaintance."