The Black Gang · Chapter
In Which Things Happen at Maybrick Hall explained
Drummond and Phyllis attempt to escape Maybrick Hall after freeing her.
What happens
Drummond and Phyllis attempt to escape Maybrick Hall after freeing her. They discover the fence is electrified when a fox is electrocuted, and Drummond realizes the danger. He sends Phyllis ahead and stays behind to create a diversion, using stealth and cunning to attack the pursuing men. He uses the electrified fence as a weapon, throwing several men against it, and creates panic among the group. After the men retreat to the house, Drummond considers his next move, realizing he must find a way through the fence, possibly via the drive gate.
Themes in this chapter
Vigilante Justice
Drummond takes the law into his own hands, using deadly force and unconventional tactics against his enemies at Maybrick Hall.
Violence and Brutality
The chapter is filled with graphic violence, including electrocution, physical assaults, and shooting, highlighting the brutal nature of the conflict.
Disguise and Deception
Drummond uses stealth and deception, mimicking an owl's hoot and blending into the shadows, to outwit and terrorize his pursuers.
Characters to notice
- Hugh Drummond
Leads Phyllis to safety, discovers the electrified fence, and uses guerrilla tactics to attack the pursuers, throwing them against the live wires.
- Phyllis Benton
Freed by Drummond, she is terrified by the electrified fox and follows his instructions to escape while he creates a diversion.
- Yulowski
The redheaded Russian who commands the men at Maybrick Hall, ordering them to switch on the power and later to form a line of beaters to shoot Drummond on sight.
- Franz
One of the men pursuing Drummond; he is seized and thrown against the electrified fence by Drummond.
Key passages
“It was a fox, and the fowl it had been carrying lay a yard away. It lay there rigid and motionless, and completely bewildered he bent and touched it, only to draw back his hand as if he'd been stung.”
A fox that had been carrying a chicken was electrocuted by the fence, and when Drummond touched it, he received a shock, revealing the danger.
This moment reveals the electrified fence to Drummond, a critical discovery for the escape.
“He saw him pause for a moment peering round a bush, with his revolver ready in his hand. And then the terror started. The beater next to the victim had a fleeting vision of a huge black object springing through the darkness: a muttered curse and a gurgle—and a dreadful strangled scream. And the outside beater was no more. He had been hurled against the live-wire fence as if he was a child—and the exhibits had been increased by one.”
Drummond ambushed a guard, threw him against the electrified fence, and killed him, adding to the 'exhibits' of the night.
This demonstrates Drummond's brutal and effective tactics, using the environment as a weapon.