And then she heard Lupita’s scream, a sharp cry of terror that tore at her soul. Catalina jumped to her feet and ran inside, but Jacinto was already coming out with the gold box in his hands. He had found it, and behind him came the other two cowboys, dragging Tomás by the arm. The boy’s face was covered in tears, and his shirt was torn. Lupita and Carlitos were crying at the back of the grotto, hidden in the shadows.
Don Erasmo looked at the box, then at Catalina, and then he laughed. A dry, humorless laugh, full of contempt, told her she was a thief, that she had stolen what wasn’t hers, and that now she was going to pay for it. He told her he would turn her over to the authorities, that she would be put in jail, and that her children would end up in an orphanage or starving to death in the streets. Catalina felt the world crumbling around her, but then, from the depths of her despair, she found one last spark of courage.
She looked Don Erasmo in the eye and said in a clear, strong voice that she knew the truth, that she knew about the chained corpse in the tunnel, that she knew the gold was stolen, that she knew Don Erasmo was a murderer and that Father Anselmo knew it too, that she had already sent a message to the city authorities, that the truth would come out sooner or later. Don Erasmo’s face changed; his smile vanished.
Her expression replaced by one of cold fury, she told Jacinto to shut her up. Jacinto took a step toward Catalina, raising his rifle and pointing it at her chest. Catalina closed her eyes, waiting for the shot, thinking of her children, praying that someone would take care of them when she was gone. But the shot never came. Instead, she heard another voice, a voice coming from the road, a loud, authoritarian voice, shouting for them to lower their weapons. Catalina opened her eyes and saw something she never thought she would see.
Father Anselmo was coming up the road accompanied by six uniformed men. They were federal soldiers sent from the city, led by a young lieutenant with a serious face and a determined gaze. The lieutenant ordered Don Erasmo and his men to drop their weapons. Jacinto hesitated, looking at his boss, waiting for orders, but Don Erasmo knew he had lost. He lowered his head and signaled to his men to obey. The cowboys dropped their rifles to the ground, and the soldiers quickly surrounded them.
Father Anselmo approached Catalina and helped her to her feet. He told her that everything was going to be all right, that she had done the right thing, and that justice would take care of the rest. The federal soldiers acted quickly. The lieutenant, a young man named Ramírez, ordered Don Erasmo and Jacinto to be handcuffed. The cowboys were disarmed and forced to sit on the ground, guarded by two soldiers with rifles at the ready. Don Erasmo protested. He shouted that it was an injustice, that he was a respectable man, that he had powerful friends in the state government.
But Lieutenant Ramírez remained unfazed. He told her he had received an urgent telegram from Father Anselmo denouncing serious crimes and that he had orders to investigate everything related to the hidden treasure and the chained corpse. Catalina, still trembling with adrenaline and fear, ran to the grotto and hugged her three children. Tomás’s face was smeared with dirt and tears, but he was composed. Lupita and Carlitos clung to their mother’s legs, crying softly, not quite understanding what was happening, but sensing that something important had changed.
Catalina whispered to them that it was all over, that they were safe, that no one would hurt them. Father Anselmo approached Catalina and placed a hand on her shoulder. He told her she had been very brave, that she had done the right thing by trusting him, and that the authorities would now investigate everything. He explained that after she left his house, he had sent an urgent telegram to the city contacting Judge Morales, an honest man who had spent years investigating the abuses of the rural landowners.
The judge had immediately dispatched Lieutenant Ramírez with a patrol of federal soldiers, and they arrived just in time. Lieutenant Ramírez approached Catalina and asked her to lead him to the place where she had seen the body and the treasure. Catalina nodded, her legs still trembling, and asked her children to stay with Father Anselmo while she showed them the way. Tomás wanted to go with her, but Catalina told him to stay and look after his brothers; it was important.
The boy nodded solemnly, accepting once again a responsibility that wasn’t his. Catalina led the lieutenant, two of his soldiers, and Father Anselmo to the abandoned house. They went down to the basement, moved the crates, and entered the tunnel she had dug with a pickaxe. The stale air hit their faces, and the cloying smell of death made them cover their noses with handkerchiefs. They advanced crouching down, using flashlights to illuminate the earthen walls and rotting beams until they reached the final chamber.
When Lieutenant Ramirez saw the chained corpse, he froze. One of the soldiers had to leave the tunnel to vomit. Father Anselmo made the sign of the cross and murmured a prayer under his breath. The lieutenant approached the corpse carefully, examining the rusted chains, the tattered clothing, the exposed bones. Then he looked at the gold and silver boxes stacked against the walls and shook his head, both astonished and disgusted. He asked Catalina if she knew who that person was.
Catalina shook her head, but told him what she had overheard when Don Erasmo and Jacinto were there. She said that Don Erasmo had mentioned something about the wretched Medina family and that he had said that gold had cost many lives. The lieutenant took notes and told her that this information would be crucial to the investigation. They went back to the surface, and the lieutenant ordered the entire area cordoned off. Two soldiers remained guarding the entrance to the cellar, and two others were sent into town to gather more information about the Medina family and the old rumors of missing treasure.
Don Erasmo and Jacinto were taken to the town, handcuffed and mounted on their own horses, escorted by soldiers. The townspeople came out into the streets to watch them pass. And the murmurs grew like a swarm of bees. Some couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Others, those who had suffered under Don Erasmo’s yoke for years, felt something inside them loosen, as if a rope that had strangled them for decades had finally snapped. That night, Catalina and her children slept at Father Anselmo’s house.
The priest prepared a simple supper of chicken broth and warm tortillas for them, and gave them a small but clean room with a real bed and sheets that smelled of soap. The children fell asleep almost immediately, exhausted from everything they had experienced. Catalina stayed awake a while longer, sitting by the window, gazing at the stars and trying to process everything that had happened. Father Anselmo sat beside her and offered her a cup of hot tea.
