Souls of the common people await assignment to either the Ship of Heaven or the Ship of Hell.
A Farmer whose difficult life incited him to commit acts of petty dishonesty is exonerated, for he repented in time. Marta Gil, a shrewd market woman so talkative that the Devil has no chance to debate, argues that since the Ship of Hell is temporarily stranded, she must by default board the other ship; momentarily disarmed by her sophistry, the Devil spares her from damnation. A Shepherd and a Shepherdess join the other souls, and all of them are directed to wait along the shores of purgatory until they are accepted aboard the Ship of Heaven on its next journey. Only one soul is immediately taken by the Angel, that of a little boy destined for grace. A Gambler who has blasphemed against God is swept away by the Devil.