As a terrible storm gathers over a remote river tributary of the Rio Gila, a rider in Mexican attire named Don Pablo de Zarate rides furiously to reach his destination. Ignoring the approaching storm, he pushes his horse, Negro, to a densely obstructed part of the riverbank. There, he carefully conceals his horse in a thicket, secures his weapons, and navigates a natural bridge made of intertwined vines to cross to the opposite bank. Upon crossing, he is immediately met by Ellen, the daughter of the notorious Red Cedar. Despite the danger, Don Pablo declares that only death could have kept him from their meeting. Ellen leads Don Pablo to her solitary, melancholy dwelling, a humble hut called a jacal. She reveals that she is currently alone because her father and two brothers left at sunrise, noting that they have been acting anxious and hostile lately. Don Pablo admits that he has been looking for a missing casket but that his extensive searches have yielded nothing. Ellen tries to recount the moments following the death of a man named Harry during a chaotic earthquake. Amid that panic, she recalls seeing two men near the dying hunter: a wounded ranchero named Andrés Garote, and Fray Ambrosio. She distinctly remembers the monk bending over Harry's body and hiding something in his chest with great joy. Don Pablo becomes convinced that Fray Ambrosio stole the casket. Ellen notes that the monk fled immediately after the earthquake, and her father has not spoken of him since. Before giving these details, Ellen attempts to plead for a grace, urging Don Pablo to abandon a project. This prompts an intense emotional exchange about their forbidden love. Don Pablo recognizes that Ellen is the daughter of his family's bitter enemy—the man who cold-bloodedly murdered his sister. Even though their love seems monstrous to society, Don Pablo is fiercely resolved to brave his family and the world for her. He passionately insists that Ellen cannot truly be Red Cedar's daughter, believing the missing casket holds the ultimate proof of her true heritage. Though Ellen despairs that her childhood memories might be wrong, Don Pablo refuses to believe that an angel could be born from a demon. As the sun sets and the storm finally unleashes its fury with vivid lightning and crashing thunder, Ellen urges Don Pablo to leave before her dangerous father and brothers return. Don Pablo bids her a passionate farewell, promising that he will track down Fray Ambrosio and find the casket. He urges her to maintain her faith in God and their future. Left alone in the hut, Ellen drops to her knees and prays that her hopeful premonitions are true, fearing she will otherwise die of despair.