CHAPTER XVII
THE BANQUET.
There, under the shade of the decorated pavilion, the great men of the
province were banqueting. The Alcalde occupied one end of the table;
Ibarra, the other. On the young man's right sat Maria Clara, and on
his left, the Notary. Captain Tiago, the alferez, the gobernadorcillo,
the friars, the employees, and the few señoritas who were present
were seated, not according to rank but according to their own fancy.
The banquet was very animated, but, before it was half over,
a messenger with a telegram came in search of Captain Tiago. The
Captain asked permission to read the message, and naturally all begged
of him to do so.
The worthy Captain at first knit his eyebrows; and then raised
them. His face became pale, and then brightened up. Doubling up the
sheet of paper hurriedly, he arose.
"Gentlemen," said he, confused, "His Excellency, the Governor General,
is coming this afternoon to honor my house."
And then he started on a run, taking with him the telegram and the
napkin, but not his hat. All sorts of questions and exclamations
were shouted after him. The announcement of the coming of the
tulisanes could not have had a greater effect. "But listen! When
does he come? Tell us about it! His Excellency!" But Captain Tiago
was already far away.
"His Excellency is coming and will be a guest at Captain Tiago's
house!" exclaimed some one, without considering that the Captain's
daughter and future son-in-law were present.
"The choice could not have been a better one," replied another.
The friars looked at each other. Their expressions seemed to say:
"The Governor General is committing another of his errors, offending
us in this way. He ought to be the guest of the convent." But despite
the fact that they thought this, they all kept silent and no one of
them expressed his opinion.
"Even yesterday he was speaking to me about it," said the Alcalde,
"but, at that time, His Excellency was not decided."
"Do you know, Your Excellency, Señor Alcalde, how long the Governor
General intends to remain here?" asked the alferez, a little uneasy.
"No, not positively. His Excellency likes surprises."
"Here come some other telegrams!"
The messages were for the Alcalde, the alferez, and the
gobernadorcillo, and announced the same thing to each of them. The
friars noticed that none came addressed to the curate.
