In this chapter, we learn that the protagonist's father, a mining magnate, was forced into bankruptcy by his business partner, a man named yokose. The protagonist explains that his father was a hardworking man, but that his company's stock had gone public, and that the company had been listed on the stock exchange. His father hired a consul-general to help him line up his finances. Predictably enough, the man, who was a genius at mathematizing, was hired by the family to help line up the family's finances. This man, the protagonist explains, was a "genius of a manager" . The family was caught in a trap, and the protagonist is furious at the man for having tricked them into believing that their finances were in order. .