Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
An Unfinished Race explained
James Burne Worson, a shoemaker from Leamington, England, makes a drunken wager to run to Coventry and back.
What happens
James Burne Worson, a shoemaker from Leamington, England, makes a drunken wager to run to Coventry and back. He sets off with three companions following in a cart. In the middle of the road, he suddenly stumbles, cries out, and vanishes before their eyes, never to be seen again. The companions are taken into custody but their story is never discredited.
Themes in this chapter
The Uncanny and the Grotesque
The sudden, inexplicable vanishing of Worson in broad daylight defies natural explanation.
Fate and Inevitability
Worson's boastful wager leads to an abrupt and mysterious end, as if his fate was sealed by the challenge.
Characters to notice
- James Burne Worson
The shoemaker who vanishes mid-race after a drunken wager.
Key passages
“Suddenly—in the very middle of the roadway, not a dozen yards from them, and with their eyes full upon him—the man seemed to stumble, pitched headlong forward, uttered a terrible cry and vanished!”
Without warning, right in the middle of the road and only a few yards away, the man appeared to trip, lunged forward, screamed, and disappeared.
Describes the moment of Worson's inexplicable disappearance.