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.
