nine at night
From his struggles with the curate , the alférez had a bad reputation among the devout , which he deserved , and shared with his wife , a hideous and vile old Filipino woman named Doña Consolacion . The husband avenged his conjugal woes on himself by drinking like a fish ; on his subordinates , by making them exercise in the sun ; and most frequently on his wife , by kicks and drubbings . The two fought famously between themselves , but were of one mind when it was a question of the curate . Inspired by his wife , the officer ordered that no one be abroad in the streets after nine at night . The priest , who did not like this restriction , retorted in lengthy sermons , whenever the alférez went to church . Like all impenitents , the alférez did not mend his ways for that , but went out swearing under his breath , arrested the first sacristan he met , and made him clean the yard of the barracks . So the war went on .