Chapter 4 Summary

The narrator brings the girl some earrings his mother left him only to exchange them for others after he sees her wear them. The narrator also begins reading stories to the girl, hoping to increase her education. During this time, the only sour note in the narrator's life is the cat. The cat has gotten ill and the vet wants to put it down because it is old. The narrator feels this barbarous and refuses. One night while he is with the girl, the narrator is pulled from the bed by Rosa Cabarcas. A man visiting the brothel has been stabbed to death and Rosa Cabarcas needs the narrator to help her dress the body before the police arrive. The narrator makes Rosa Cabarcas promise to get the girl out of the house before the police find her, which she does.

The narrator...