Kate Plus 10 · Chapter
III: Other Eyes Watched Michael explained
Michael Pretherston returns to Scotland Yard and receives a warning from Commissioner T.
What happens
Michael Pretherston returns to Scotland Yard and receives a warning from Commissioner T. B. Smith about Kate's dangerous nature and the need to protect himself. Ignoring the advice, Michael conducts a solitary reconnaissance of Crime Street, a hidden enclave of criminals in Amberscombe Gardens. The chapter describes the layout of Crime Street and its various criminal inhabitants, including Dr. Philip Garon, Mr. Cunningham, the Bishop, Mr. Colling Jacques, Millet, H. Mulberry, Señor Gregori, the Stockmar brothers, and Colonel Westhanger. Michael is watched by multiple eyes, including Colonel Westhanger and Gregori, who discuss their dislike of him and plan to follow him.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Morality
The chapter introduces Crime Street as a haven for various criminals, each with a specialized skill, highlighting the organized and pervasive nature of crime.
Deception and Disguise
The criminals in Crime Street maintain respectable facades (e.g., Mr. Mulberry as a methodical office worker, Dr. Garon as a successful practitioner) while engaging in illegal activities.
Law vs. Criminality
Michael Pretherston's reconnaissance of Crime Street represents the ongoing struggle between law enforcement and organized crime, with the police aware of the area but unable to fully suppress it.
Characters to notice
- Michael Pretherston
Returns to Scotland Yard, receives advice from Commissioner Smith, and later conducts a solitary reconnaissance of Crime Street, unaware he is being watched.
- Commissioner T. B. Smith
Warns Michael about Kate's dangerous nature and advises him to protect himself, but Michael ignores the advice.
- The Colonel
Colonel Westhanger watches Michael from his house in Crime Street, expresses dislike for him, and orders him to be followed.
- Señor Gregori
Stands at Colonel Westhanger's elbow, watching Michael, and expresses a desire to meet him in a dark passage.
- Dr. Philip Garon
Resident of Number One Crime Street, an American practitioner who profits from card games on ocean liners.
- Mr. Cunningham
Resident of Number Three Crime Street, known as 'Mush,' a safecracker with two terms of penal servitude.
- Mr. Millet
Resident of Number Nine Crime Street, a forger who served a fifteen-year sentence but was released early, suspected of turning King's evidence.
- Mr. Mulberry
Resident of Number Two Crime Street, a respectable-looking man who is actually a begging letter writer on a grand scale.
Key passages
“If we took Kate on any charge it would not prevent the swindle going forward”
Arresting Kate would not stop the planned fraud.
Commissioner Smith explains that Kate has already mobilized her resources, making her arrest ineffective.
“Kate is a bluff; you mustn't take any notice of what she says.”
Kate's words are not to be trusted; she is putting on a front.
Smith warns Michael that Kate's demeanor is deceptive.
“I would give much for an opportunity of meeting that gentleman in a nice dark passage, in one of those old Harrison Ainsworth houses which were providentially built over a river.”
I would love to confront that man in a dark alley in an old house built over a river.
Gregori expresses a violent desire to ambush Michael.
