I returned to Manila, and next day was horrified to read in a newspaper that he had been murdered in the night by his two servants. This atrocious crime, committed on a helpless and infirm old man, with every circumstance of premeditation and barbarity, and with the object of robbery, roused the indignation of every European. The culprits were soon apprehended, and such expedition was used by the Promotor Fiscal and the court, that within a week from the perpetration of the murder the two servants were garrotted on a scaffold erected near the scene of their barbarous crime. Such is the rapidity with which the Philippine courts could act when a Spaniard was the victim and when public opinion was deeply stirred by some shocking tragedy. The case of Juan de la Cruz. The following narrative of events, which occurred in 1886, will give the reader a good idea of the furious passions that may lurk under the inscrutable features of the Philippine Malay, and will also serve to illustrate the procedure of the Spanish criminal courts when the victims are natives and when nothing can be made out of the case. Four of the five actors or victims in the tragedy were well known to me, and I learned all the particulars at first hand and at the time, from those who took steps to deliver over the culprit to justice. The decked steam launch Laguimanoc belonged to Gustav Brown, a ship carpenter, and was hired by the Varadero, or Slipway Company of Cañacao, near Cavite, to keep up communication with Manila, whilst the slip was being constructed. I was consulting engineer to the company, and Mr. J. L. Houston was the resident engineer in charge of the work. Both of us made frequent voyages in this launch between Cañacao and Manila. The crew consisted of a patron (coxswain) named Juan de la Cruz, an engine-driver, a stoker, and a boy, all Tagals. Juan de la Cruz was an elderly man with grey hair, and in figure thin and wiry. He was a good man at his duty, one of the silent Indians whom I have always found to be the best. A thorough sailor, he had served under many a flag, and sailed o'er many a sea, both in tropic and in northern climes. The engine-driver and the stoker were brothers, strong and well-built young fellows, and smart at their work. The boy was an active lad, quite pleased to be employed on a steam-boat.