Indeed, the stone which had been torn out of the pavement before he left Manila had not yet been replaced. While he was meditating upon the wonderful stability of things in so unstable a country, some one placed a hand upon his shoulder. With a start he looked up, and his eyes met those of the old lieutenant, who also had left the Captain's house. A smile had displaced the officer's usual harsh expression and characteristic frown. "Be careful, young man!" said he. "Remember what happened to your father!" "I beg your pardon. You seem to have esteemed my father very highly. Can you tell me what has been his fate?" asked Ibarra, gazing intently into the lieutenant's eyes. "Do you not know?" said the officer. "I asked Don Santiago, but he said that he would tell me nothing until to-morrow. Have you no information regarding him?" "Why, yes; everybody knows about him. He died in prison." The young man stepped back and stared wildly at the officer. "In prison! Who died in prison?" he asked in astonishment. "Why, your father, who had been arrested," answered the officer somewhat surprised. "What! My father in prison! Arrested and imprisoned! Man, what are you talking about? Do you know who my father was? Are you----?" asked the young man, nervously grasping the officer's arm. "I don't think that I am mistaken: Don Rafael Ibarra." "Yes. Don Rafael Ibarra," repeated the young man, scarcely able to utter the words. "I thought that you knew it," said the officer, in a sympathetic voice, as he saw the emotion his words had caused. "I thought that you knew it; but be brave. Here, you know, no man can be honorable without being imprisoned." "I cannot believe that you are not jesting," replied Ibarra, after a few minutes of deep silence. "Can you tell me for what offense he was imprisoned?" The old man paused as if to meditate. "It seems strange to me that you have not been kept informed as to the affairs of your family." "My father's last letter, which I received a year ago, told me not to be uneasy if he failed to write to me, for he was very busy. He advised me to continue my studies, he sent me his blessing----" "In that case, he must have written the letter to you shortly before his death. It is almost a year since we buried him in his own town." "Why was my father arrested?" asked Ibarra in a voice full of emotion. "The cause of his arrest was an honorable one. I must go to my quarters now; walk along with me and then I can tell you on the way. Take my arm." They walked for some time in melancholy silence. Deep in thought and nervously stroking his goatee, the officer sought inspiration before he could begin the pitiful tale.