# A Trap to Catch a Cracksman explained — A Thief in the Night

> Chapter companion for A Thief in the Night by E. W. Hornung.

## What happens

Bunny is roused from bed by a frantic late-night telephone call from Raffles, who reveals he is trapped in Barney Maguire's house after attempting to burgle it. Raffles had accepted Maguire's boast about a burglar trap as a challenge. Bunny rushes to Half-moon Street, only to encounter Maguire himself returning home with companions, leaving Bunny caught in his own predicament.

## Themes in this chapter

### Adventure and Risk

Raffles accepts Maguire's boast as a challenge, leading to his entrapment.

### Friendship and Loyalty

Bunny rushes to rescue Raffles despite the danger.

### Crime and Morality

The chapter centers on a burglary attempt and the moral consequences of criminal daring.

## Character check-ins

### Bunny

Narrator who receives Raffles' desperate call and rushes to Maguire's house.

### A. J. Raffles

Trapped in Maguire's burglar trap; telephones Bunny for help.

### Barney Maguire

Heavyweight champion who set the trap; returns home to find Bunny at his door.

### Swigger Morrison

Bunny had been dining with him at his club earlier that night.

## Key lines

> I was just putting out my light when the telephone rang a furious tocsin in the next room.

Bunny was about to go to sleep when the phone rang urgently.

_Opening scene sets the late-night urgency._

> I'm caught at last … caught … at last!

Raffles admits he is finally trapped.

_Raffles' confession of being caught in Maguire's trap._

> I was nicely caught in my turn.

Bunny finds himself trapped as Maguire arrives home.

_Bunny's own predicament at the end of the chapter._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_thief_in_the_night_se/chapters/a-trap-to-catch-a-cracksman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_thief_in_the_night_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_thief_in_the_night_se/chapters