Felipe starts reading the General’s papers. He learns that the deceased grew up on a hacienda in Oaxaca, went to France, returned with Maximilian I, and after the French army’s defeat, he was exiled to Paris in 1867.

The following morning Felipe is woken up by the sun at six. He notices that all his belongings are present and unpacked. While getting ready for the day, he hears cats yowling and, in an attempt to find out what is happening, he climbs up on the furniture and opens the skylight window. He takes a quick look and sees seven cats writhing in flames in a side garden.

Aura comes to announce breakfast. After eating, Felipe goes to see Consuelo. He asks her about the side garden, but the old woman denies any knowledge of it, insisting that the only open space is the converted patio.

Felipe works on the General’s papers all morning, rewriting some of the poorly phrased passages and editing others. The work is not too difficult, and he decides to take his time and prolong the assignment as much as possible. His goal is to save 12,000 pesos so he can spend an entire year working on his own research concerning the Spanish Golden Age and the colonization of South America.