# Pursuivant Again explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Manly Wade Wellman.

## What happens

Connatt dreams of Sigrid and Judge Pursuivant leading him to a mysterious hatchway beneath the earth. He reconciles with Davidson, swims with Sigrid, and learns that the final line of the play 'Ruthven' is missing from all scripts. Varduk dismisses it as a typist's error. Judge Pursuivant arrives for lunch and later walks with Connatt, revealing his deliberate presence and his belief in a curse on Lord Byron's bloodline, which he thinks affects Varduk.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Power of Belief and Ritual

Varduk's superstitious refusal to speak the play's last line in rehearsal, and Pursuivant's discussion of the Byron curse, highlight how belief and ritual shape events.

### Evil and Moral Corruption

Pursuivant describes Byron's forebears and associates as depraved and cursed, suggesting a hereditary taint of evil that may affect Varduk.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Connatt

The narrator; dreams of Sigrid and Pursuivant, reconciles with Davidson, swims with Sigrid, and discusses the missing last line and the Byron curse with Pursuivant.

### Keith Pursuivant

Arrives for lunch; reveals he came deliberately due to an occult challenge from Varduk, and elaborates on the curse of Byron and its possible effect on Varduk.

### Varduk

Dismisses the missing last line as a careless omission by Davidson; maintains a superstitious refusal to speak the line in rehearsal.

### Sigrid Holgar

Swims with Connatt; reacts to his dream with interest but avoids a romantic advance; has no last line in her script.

### Elmo Davidson

Reconciles with Connatt; prepared breakfast; is blamed by Varduk for the missing last line in the typescript.

### Martha Vining

Confirms to Connatt that her script also lacks the final speech; mentioned the omission to Sigrid before breakfast.

## Key lines

> If a curse exists, would it affect Varduk as a descendant of Byron? I think that it would, and that his recent actions prove at once the existence of a curse and the truth of his claim to descent.

Connatt asks if the Byron curse could apply to Varduk, and Pursuivant affirms that Varduk's behavior confirms both the curse and his lineage.

_Central to the chapter's exploration of inherited evil and occult influence._

> Davidson must have made a careless omission. Of course, there is only one typescript of the play, with carbon copies. Well, if the last line is missing, isn't it a definite sign that we should not speak it in rehearsal?

Varduk blames Davidson for the missing last line and uses it as a reason to maintain his superstitious rule.

_Highlights Varduk's manipulation and the power of ritual avoidance._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/viii-pursuivant-again
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters