“There are many ways of doing it and we must make use of all of them. For the rebels, the most conspicuous ones who have placed us between the sword and the wall, death is little enough. Yes, their death, their families’ death, the destruction of their villages and towns. Then we’ll have to throw salt on their fields so that not a single seed ever sprouts there again.”

“That would take care of a few of them, the leaders. And the rest?”

Carried away by his own oratory, Leonardo had forgotten that the vast majority of the Indians were neither rebellious nor conspicuous, but indifferent, with a submissiveness they inherited from their parents and grandparents. He rapidly improvised a response.

“Let the government send them somewhere else. The map of the state is full of areas of federal land. Let them colonize that land.”

“And if the Indians don’t want to go?”

“They’ll be killed!”

Before turning around, Julia asked one more question, “Have you discussed this with the other ranchers?”

“Of course. We talk about it every day, all the time.”

“What do they think?”

“At first they thought it was a trap, that I was trying to leave them without anyone to work their ranches for them, to ruin them so I could get my hands on their property and pay them a pittance for it.”

“Did they tell you that?”

“When does a Coleto tell you what he’s thinking? But I’m as sly a fox as they are and I know their cunning ways. I played the offended party and threatened to let them find out on their own whatever lesson it was that God wanted to teach them.”

“If you issue the directives, who’s going to carry them out?”

“The soldiers.”

“You yourself just said they have no guts.”

“Because they haven’t smelled blood or gunpowder yet. They’re holed up here behind their mothers’ skirts, waiting for the Indians to come down on them and finish them off. I’m going to force those worthless beggars to take some initiative and stop being so gun-shy.”

“I’m going to leave.”

“Where will you go? Are you crazy? What are you talking about?”

“It’s still possible to leave, isn’t it? A lot of families have moved away from the city.”

Leonardo did not see in Julia’s features any sign that she was upset or confused. Her calmness annoyed him. I’m not going to be the one to beg, he told himself. And then, aloud, “You’ll have to leave everything in the house behind you. People won’t want to buy anything at a time like this.”

“I’m going to give my things to Dona Mercedes Solórzano if she helps me prepare for the trip.”

“Have you already agreed on this with her?”

“I wanted to have your consent first. Now I can go ahead and send for her.”