Will and Lyra meet back up in the evening and sit together on a bench thinking about everything they have learned. They begin to argue when Lyra lies to a policeman and pretends they are siblings who have lost their parents. He thinks she is being too conspicuous. She thinks he is assuming he will not be noticed and is unaware of the danger around him. She asks about his father and reveals that the altheiometer told her some things about Will. Although he is angry that she has used it on him, he realizes that his only choice is to trust her; they both found each other at the exact right moment and there is probably a reason they are together. Tired and hungry, they go to the cinema to eat hot dogs, watch two movies, and wait for darkness so they can slip back through the window to the other world without being noticed.

When they arrive in Cittàgazze, they find a group of children with stones and sticks, torturing the cat that Will had first seen pass through. They seem terrified of the creature, and Will is able to grab it and push past them. Pantalaimon transforms into a leopard and scares the children away.