The Social Cancer, by José Rizal - Home

CHAPTER XXXIX 186
with a loud kick. The alferez appeared pale and gloomy, and when he saw what was going on he threw a
terrible glance at his wife, who did not move from her place but stood smiling at him cynically.
The alferez put his hand as gently as he could on the shoulder of the strange dancer and made her stop. The
crazy woman sighed and sank slowly to the floor covered with her own blood.
The silence continued. The alferez breathed heavily, while his wife watched him with questioning eyes. She
picked up the whip and asked in a smooth, soft voice, "What's the matter with you? You haven't even wished
me good evening."
The alferez did not answer, but instead called the boy and said to him, "Take this woman away and tell Marta
to get her some other clothes and attend to her. You give her something to eat and a good bed. Take care that
she isn't ill-treated! Tomorrow she'll be taken to Señor Ibarra's house."
Then he closed the door carefully, bolted it, and approached his wife. "You're tempting me to kill you!" he
exclaimed, doubling up his fists.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked, rising and drawing away from him.
"What's the matter with me!" he yelled in a voice of thunder, letting out an oath and holding up before her a
sheet of paper covered with scrawls. "Didn't you write this letter to the alcalde saying that I'm bribed to permit
gambling, huh? I don't know why I don't beat you to death."
"Let's see you! Let's see you try it if you dare!" she replied with a jeering laugh. "The one who beats me to
death has got to be more of a man than you are!"
He heard the insult, but saw the whip. Catching up a plate from the table, he threw it at her head, but she,
accustomed to such fights, dodged quickly and the plate was shattered against the wall. A cup and saucer met
with a similar fate.
"Coward!" she yelled; "you're afraid to come near me!" And to exasperate him the more, she spat upon him.
The alferez went blind from rage and with a roar attempted to throw himself upon her, but she, with
astonishing quickness, hit him across the face with the whip and ran hurriedly into an inner room, shutting and
bolting the door violently behind her. Bellowing with rage and pain, he followed, but was only able to run
against the door, which made him vomit oaths.
"Accursed be your offspring, you sow! Open, open, or I'll break your head!" he howled, beating the door with
his hands and feet.
No answer was heard, but instead the scraping of chairs and trunks as if she was building a barricade with the
furniture. The house shook under the kicks and curses of the alferez.
"Don't come in, don't come in!" called the sour voice inside. "If you show yourself, I'll shoot you."
By degrees he appeared to become calm and contented himself with walking up and down the room like a
wild beast in its cage.
"Go out into the street and cool off your head!" the woman continued to jeer at him, as she now seemed to
have completed her preparations for defense.
"I swear that if I catch you, even God won't save you, you old sow!"