Tandang Selo got up, sat down, went outside, came back again, knowing not where to go, where to seek aid.

Juli appealed to her images, counted and recounted her money, but her two hundred pesos did not increase or multiply.

Soon she dressed herself, gathered together all her jewels, and asked the advice of her grandfather, if she should go to see the gobernadorcillo, the judge, the notary, the lieutenant of the Civil Guard.

The old man said yes to everything, or when she said no, he too said no.

At length came the neighbors, their relatives and friends, some poorer than others, in their simplicity magnifying the fears.