Don Antonio
- Book 6 (Doña Isabella) opens.
- Bishop Latour has one great ambition in his religious career: to build a big cathedral in Santa Fe in the style of Roman churches. To this end, he starts up a collection in his diocese, hoping to cobble together enough money to start building. Of all the people who donate to him, the most generous is a man named Don Antonio Olivares.
- Olivares is a rich dude who lives a lavish lifestyle that makes his neighbors envious. He also has a beautiful and accomplished wife named Isabella.
- Of course, people spread rumors that Isabella dresses too young for her age and keeps secret lovers in nearby towns. After all, they can't just go and let Don Antonio have it all, can they?
- One day, Don Antonio announces to a room full of people that he's going to give Bishop Latour a large enough amount of money to start work on the great cathedral.
- That night, there's a great feast to celebrate Antonio's announcement. Kit Carson even comes from out of town with his daughter to help celebrate.
- After dinner, a young man plays the banjo and a few of the guests regale everyone with stories about their family histories.
- One story comes from a guy named Manuel Chavez, who survived being shot by nine Native American arrows (in one sitting) when he was only sixteen. It seems that back in those days, white people would hunt Native Americans for sport, as though they were buffalo.
- Ugh. People are horrible.
- The chapter closes with a description of how Don Antonio dies a short while after this party. He just drops dead (probably from heart trouble). Before anyone can even say "Oh my God," Don Antonio's brothers are off to Albuquerque to find a lawyer. They plan on challenging Doña Isabella (Antonio's wife) for the family inheritance.