At the head of these was Celedonio whom Madariaga had greatly enriched in his lifetime for no heavier work than listening to him and repeating, "That's so, Patron, that's true!" More than a million dollars were represented by these bequests in lands and herds.

The one who completed the list of beneficiaries was Julio Desnoyers.

The grandfather had made special mention of this namesake, leaving him a plantation "to meet his private expenses, making up for that which his father would not give him." "But that represents hundreds of thousands of dollars!" protested Karl, who had been making himself almost obnoxious in his efforts to assure himself that his wife had not been overlooked in the will.
The days following the reading of this will were very trying ones for the family.

Elena and her children kept looking at the other group as though they had just waked up, contemplating them in an entirely new light.

They seemed to forget what they were going to receive in their envy of the much larger share of their relatives.
Desnoyers, benevolent and conciliatory, had a plan.