Chapter 3 Summary

Before going to bed, Felipe looks over the General's papers. He is unimpressed by the quality of writing; it does not live up to Senora Consuelo's descriptions. The subject-matter is likewise uninteresting. The things the General describes—his boyhood on a Mexican hacienda, his dealings with Napoleon III, various military skirmishes—are all things he has heard before. He is amused by the old woman's foolish devotion to her husband, but is even more pleased when he thinks about the money he will be paid.

Felipe wakes up far earlier than he desired. His glass roof has no curtain and thus his room is flooded with bright light at sunrise. He tries to get back to sleep, but it is useless. He starts his morning routine of washing and shaving but is interrupted by a dreadful yowling. He looks all around...