It was the unconscious influence of Gabriel.

What he had said to his friends had been passed on to all the men in the Claverias, getting even to the women.

They were confused and garbled ideas, that very few could understand, but they cherished them like fresh pure air reviving their minds.

They sounded in their ears like a pleasant echo from the outside world.

It was sufficient for them to know that this quiet life of submission they had led up to now was not immutable--they had a right to something better--and that human beings ought to rebel against injustice and oppression.
Don Antolin, who knew well enough the crew confided to his care, was not long in perceiving this moral upturn.