Antonio accompanies his father and Ultima across the plains and listens to them speak of their plains heritage and the inherent values that come from living on the plains. It is a conversation that is filled with hope and beauty, startling contrasts to what he experiences inside the Téllez house, as he listens to the rain of melon-sized stones on the roof. Calmly, Ultima tells the men to build a platform, upon which she will place three bundles, symbolic of the three Comanche men who were improperly buried. After setting fire to the platform, as was the Comanche tradition, Antonio hears Ultima's owl hoot. Her work is done. Téllez tells her that supernatural things began happening to him after Tenorio denounced her and he defended her honor about a month ago, in a saloon in El Puerto.
That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, calling to him from the depths of the river, asking for release from their sea-blood. Tony tells them that he has no power and then baits his hook with their livers. They cry out in such pain that he removes the livers and throws them deep into the muddy waters of the River of the Carp.
