Christmastide explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Deception and Disguise

  Hannay exchanges clothes with the post-wagon driver and uses Stumm's pass to pose as a member of the Imperial Secret Service.

• Courage in the Face of Death

  Despite fever and exhaustion, Hannay forces himself to keep moving through the snowstorm, knowing that stopping means death.

• The Chaos of War

  Hannay's desperate flight through picketed roads and a blizzard illustrates the disorder and peril of wartime espionage.

Characters to notice

• Richard Hannay

  Flees Stumm's house, exchanges clothes with a drunken post-wagon driver, evades bicyclist sentries in a snowstorm, and collapses with fever at a cottage.

• Ulric von Stumm

  Put to sleep by Hannay; his pass is used by Hannay to gain trust.

Key passages

• “Everything depended on whether the servant was in the hall. I had put Stumm to sleep for a bit, but I couldn't flatter myself he would long be quiet, and when he came to he would kick the locked door to matchwood.”

  Hannay's escape hinges on the servant's presence; he knows Stumm will soon break down the door.

  High tension as Hannay begins his flight.

• “I was like a drunk man who keeps running, for he knows that if he stops he will fall, and I had a sort of bet with myself not to lie down—not at any rate just yet.”

  Hannay compares his fever-driven flight to a drunkard's desperate race against collapse.

  Illustrates his physical and mental deterioration.

• “The good Lord has sent you. Now the little ones will have their prayers answered and the Christkind will not pass by our door.”

  The woman believes Hannay's arrival is a divine gift that will bring Christmas to her children.

  Shows the kindness and poverty of his hosts.