Ashton-Kirk, Investigator · Chapter
XX: One of the Old Sort explained
Ashton-Kirk and Pendleton visit Mr.
What happens
Ashton-Kirk and Pendleton visit Mr. Tobin at his apartment house, where Tobin reveals his past as the philosopher of the Coffin Club and shares insights about Hume's character and ancestry. Ashton-Kirk urges Tobin to advise the missing Allan Morris to come forward and gives him a card to pass along.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Deception
Allan Morris's disappearance and Tobin's cautious responses underscore the theme of hidden truths and deception.
Loyalty and Betrayal
Tobin's loyalty to the elder Morris and his willingness to help the son contrast with Hume's sinister influence.
Appearance vs. Reality
Tobin's dignified public persona as a hotel manager belies his past as the philosopher of the Coffin Club, and Hume's claimed ancestry may be more myth than fact.
Characters to notice
- Ashton Kirk
Visits Tobin, recognizes him as the philosopher of the Coffin Club, and asks him to help Allan Morris.
- Pendleton
Accompanies Ashton-Kirk and is bewildered to learn Tobin is the philosopher from the Coffin Club.
- Mr. Tobin
Revealed as the philosopher of the Coffin Club; describes Hume's menacing behavior and claims of descent from a Revolutionary officer.
- David Purtell Hume
Described by Tobin as a frightening figure at the Coffin Club who boasted of fighting ancestry and claimed descent from a Revolutionary officer.
- Allan Morris
Mentioned as having disappeared; Ashton-Kirk asks Tobin to advise him to stop hiding and come forward.
- Dan O'Connor
Mentioned as a mutual acquaintance of Ashton-Kirk and Tobin, praised for his whiskey judgment and heart.
Key passages
“A man who has disappeared as completely as this one has done is out of the reach of even the best of friends.”
A person who has vanished so thoroughly cannot be helped by anyone, no matter how close.
Tobin expresses the hopelessness of aiding Allan Morris while he remains hidden.
“An innocent man has no call to hide himself like a rat.”
A person who is not guilty has no reason to conceal himself like a rodent.
Tobin agrees that an innocent man should not go into hiding.
“To see him lift one of the stone skulls to his lips and grin over it at you, would make your blood run cold.”
Watching him raise a stone skull to his mouth and smile at you would terrify anyone.
Tobin vividly describes Hume's chilling behavior at the Coffin Club.