After
Easter, Tony goes regularly to confession and communion but he is not
satisfied by the experience. He is searching for something, although he
does not know what it is.
A
man named T�llez, an old friend of Tony's father, comes to Ultima for
help. There are strange things going on in his house. Pots, pans and
dishes are lifting themselves in the air and crashing about. T�llez
believes a curse has been laid upon the house, but the priest has been
unable to remove it. Tony's father visits the house and sees the
strange phenomena for himself. Ultima explains that a curse has been
laid on the spirits of three Indians who were hanged by T�llez's
grandfather. They now haunt the house.
Ultima,
Tony and Tony's father go to T�llez's ranch house to tackle the
problem. As they enter the house a cloud passes overhead and darkens it.
T�llez knows that this is the evil presence. There is a pounding noise
on the roof. Then suddenly it stops, and the cloud moves away. But
around the house now lie stones the size of melons, that have fallen
from the sky onto the roof.
Ultima
orders Gabriel to erect a wooden platform and pile juniper branches on
it. Tony cuts the juniper branches. Ultima emerges from the house
carrying three bundles, and asks that they be placed on the platform.
Tony does not know what is in the bundles. Then on Ultima's
instructions, Gabriel sets fire to the platform. The fire burns until
everything is turned to ashes. Ultima says the work is complete; the
curse has been lifted.
Analysis
This
episode parallels the one recorded in chapter ten, when Ultima lifts a
curse from Tony's uncle Lucas and saves his life. Like that incident,
this one shows the power of Ultima's magic. It also serves to keep the
theme of good versus evil fresh in the reader's mind. Finally,
it shows the mental growth of Tony's father. Up to this point, he has
been skeptical about religion, and has shown no interest in metaphysical
questions. But when he sees for himself what the evil spirits are
capable of, he willingly helps Ultima remove the curse.
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