The story of Friar Baltazar Montoya is a typical Cather device to give depth and variety to her work. It is also a repetition of a motif. In the Prologue, priests dine in an airy garden on a shelf of rock. They are preoccupied with food, music, and worldly pursuits. Montoya and his guest also dine on an airy rock, thinking of the good things of life. In Montoya's case, he goes too far by forcing the Indians to be his garden slaves. When he kills the boy, he finds that justice in the New World acts swiftly.
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