The Fountains of Silence: A Novel

Rafa’s supervisor tells him that the sponsor had been in to ask about Rafa and Fuga, and wants Fuga to participate in another caping. Fuga’s behavior with Ana also disturbs Rafa, especially because he believes that bullfighters should not have romantic entanglements. In fact, Rafa broke up with his girlfriend during the dance for that very reason: “Success requires complete focus” (286). He is also puzzled by Julia’s declaration that she would rather have Ana “with an amateur bullfighter like Fuga than the rich Texano,” Daniel (287).

Puri tries to talk to her mother. She tells her mother that Sister Hortensia said children are better off with no parents than they are with the wrong parents. Puri asks her mother whether those children should ever know about the “wrong parents” from whom they were taken, but when her mother doesn’t respond, “that’s when Puri realizes. Silence has a voice of its own” (288).

Daniel meets Ben in the hotel lobby. Ben gives him a press pass and tells Daniel that he’ll have to return the pass and the roll of film to Ben after they are finished. Daniel starts to feel nervous, and while they travel, Ben asks Daniel a series of questions about what he knows about Spain—not the propaganda, but the truth.

Daniel relates everything he has learned from both Ana and Nick, concluding that most of the Spanish obey Franco because they are exhausted by the war and the purges and humiliations that followed. Daniel also relates Nick’s charges that some babies adopted in Spain aren’t really orphans. They’re stolen from their families because of Franco’s belief “that Republicanism is a heritable disease. So, to rout it out, kids must be raised by Francoists whenever possible” (291).

Daniel asks if Ben is working on the story, but Ben says that as of now, there is no story. Even the birth parents cannot do anything because it’s impossible to challenge authority in Spain; if a priest or doctor says something is so, then it is so.

Daniel next asks Ben why the U.S. continues to do business with Spain, and Ben tells Daniel to think of himself and the United States as “a chisel” which is “slowly tapping our way into the rock. If we get deep enough, maybe we’ll crack it a bit” (293). Daniel and Ben then arrive at their destination: El Pardo Palace, the home of Franco, where Daniel will be taking pictures of the man himself.

This chapter is followed by an excerpt from the American Diplomacy journal. In an article from 1999, J. Edgar Williams, a consular officer with the U.S. embassy in Madrid from 1956-1958, echoes Ben’s argument to Daniel. Williams notes that many Americans at the time saw official U.S. policy on Spain as cozying up to fascists, believing that instead the United States should have boycotted Spain economically and shunned it politically. Williams argues, however, that the policy was meant to help the Spanish people.

Daniel is shocked to realize that he is being given the opportunity to photograph Franco himself. He is nervous, but “wants to give Ben a good angle, something different from all the other photographers” (297).

It is not until after he takes a series of pictures that he realizes the man shaking hands with Franco is his father. Daniel is completely unnerved by the “unsettling feeling of seeing his father smiling and clasping the hand of Francisco Franco” (299).

Ana goes to clean Daniel’s room, thinking of how Julia warned her away from Daniel. She has also received another threatening note, this one calling her a liar. Ana has “tried to forget the notes. She’s ignored the notes. But today, she’s angered by them” (300).

Ana sees that Daniel has added to her caption, writing underneath her greeting, “Hola, Ana. Would you like to dance?” This gives her courage, and she decides she’s had enough: “She’s going to tell Daniel everything” (300).

Daniel and his father travel back to the hotel with Shep Van Dorn, and Shep teases Daniel about Ana; Daniel’s father is annoyed, telling Shep “flatly” that “Dan is a gentleman” (302). Daniel is very confused, realizing that “[i]n a matter of seconds, his father and Mr. Van Dorn have faced off. The hum of tension in the car is louder than the traffic” (302). 

Rafa talks to Antonio about Fuga’s obsession with the empty caskets, which Rafa believes, distracts Fuga from his goal of being a matador: a “distracted bullfighter ends up gored” (303). Antonio points out that Fuga’s bullfighting is about fighting for others rather than for himself, and that Fuga’s obsession with the children drives his ambitions.

Antonio suggests that Rafa and Fuga ask Daniel to take pictures of the empty coffins at the graveyard, so the world will know what is happening in Spain. Rafa thinks that will enrage Fuga, who seems to harbor some sort of anger or grudge against Daniel. Antonio argues with Rafa again, noting that “Fuga […] doesn’t look to fight. He looks to defend” (304). Antonio’s observations make Rafa wonder if the reason Fuga gave his earnings to Ana was not because of romantic feelings but because Fuga thinks Ana needs protection from something.

Daniel and his father return to the hotel, and Daniel receives a message from “Tom Collins” as well as from Nick, inviting him to a birthday party. Daniel wants to use the press pass to take some photos of the Guardia Civil. When he gets to his room, however, he realizes that some of his pictures are missing.

Daniel asks Carlitos to find Ana for him, pretending he needs more towels; when he and Ana connect, Daniel says he thinks Ana took the pictures. Ana is distraught—she did not take them, and she is terrified that someone will know she wrote the captions. Daniel is relieved to discover that he still has the negatives, and he and Ana agree to meet later at the Sorollo Museum near “the fountain of whispers” (311).