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One night the Governor-General's nephew-aide came again to the Fort and Rizal embarked on the steamer which was to take him to his place of exile, but closely as he was guarded he risked dropping a note which a Filipino found and took, as it directed, to Mrs. Rizal's cousin, Vicenta Leyba, who lived in Calle José, Trozo.
These statements, which were translated by my interpreter, Sr. Leyba, made such an impression on the Admiral that he interrupted, asking "Why did you reveal our secret?" Do you mean that you do not intend to keep inviolate our well understood silence and watchword? I said in reply that I had revealed nothing of the secret connected with him and the Consul.
On September 18 Leyba continued his march, while Villa remained behind at Ilagan to torture the prisoners who might be brought in from Isabela. On arrival at Gamut, Leyba at once entered the convento and as usual immediately demanded money from the priests. Father Venancio gave him all he had.
From that melancholy time there began an era of unheard of outrages and barbarous scenes, unbelievable were they not proved by evidence of every description. The savage acts committed in Isabela by the inhuman Leyba and Villa cannot possibly be painted true to life and in all their tragic details.
When the victim's back ceased to have any feeling, his legs were beaten. Leyba terminated this period of diversion by kicking Father Diez in the solar plexus and then mocking him as he lay gasping on the floor. That afternoon one of the priests, so badly injured that he could not rise unaided, was put on a horse and compelled to ride in the hot sun to Solano.
"Whatever the treatment of the Spanish governor of Ilocos may really have been, there is testimony to show that some of the other prisoners, especially the priests, were abused and outraged under the direction of S. Villa and Colonel Leyba, both of whom were very close to Aguinaldo.
Some of these highwaymen demanded money and arms from the priest of Angadanan, but Father Marciano informed them 'that it could not be, as Leyba already knew what he had and would be angry. "To this very day the people of Nueva Vizcaya have been unable to recover from the stupendous losses suffered by them as regards their wealth and industries.
The prisoners in the jail were liberated, but many of them had promptly to be put back again because of the disorder which resulted, and that same evening Leyba was obliged to publish a notice threatening robbers with death. At midnight on September 3 Father Corujedo was taken from the convento by Captain Diego and was again asked for money.
"He drew out the 50,000 pesos from the Chartered Bank, which had become due according to the terms of the deposit, and perhaps such other sums as could be drawn upon by check, engaged passage for Europe by way of Singapore for G. H. del Pilar, J. M. Leyba, and himself under assumed names, appointed V. Belarmino to succeed to his functions, and gave him checks signed in blank to draw the interest of the sums on deposit to provide for the support of the exiles.
When the latter had given him all he had, he received three terrific beatings at the hands of some twelve men armed with whips and sticks, after which Leyba himself struck him with his fist and his sabre. He was finally knocked down by a blow with the sabre and left disabled. It took six months for him to recover.
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