Chapter 76: Refurbished
After the execution of the pirates—which, although done at their request, also served as an effective show of force—everything went smoothly in the town of Sta. Cruz.
I still had to personally visit some members of the principalia who couldn’t attend the meeting or witness the execution due to age, distance from town, or in some cases, both. But when I showed up with twenty men and an authoritative, sometimes angry façade, most of them bent their knees. Pedro’s maternal grandfather remained stubborn, but thankfully, his son—now effectively in control of the estate—was far more reasonable.
I decided to keep the copra storehouses as the barracks for Pedro’s men. I liked their location—out of the way from the town’s daily activity—and the fact that the two structures were spacious.
Of course, I had the owner remove all the abaca and ordered the buildings thoroughly cleaned until the smell was minimal. Then I requisitioned nipa mats, beds, and pillows, as well as basic furniture like tables and chairs.
While one copra storehouse served as the soldiers’ quarters, I had the other set up as Capitan Madrigal’s office and a temporary recruitment center. As expected, our battle with the pirates—and the spectacle at the plaza—was enough to attract hordes of young men to sign up.
We recorded nearly a hundred on the first day alone.
By the end of it, I had made more progress in Sta. Cruz than I had in the previous two towns.
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I gave Eduardo three days to modify the Garay warship, but just two days later, he was already at Sta. Cruz with the vessel anchored at the port in Buyabod.