# The Black Mask — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Black Mask by E. W. Hornung.

- [No Sinecure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/no-sinecure.md): Raffles and Bunny are living in a small flat in Albany, where Raffles is restless and bored with their quiet life. He decides to take up a new challenge: breaking into a house in the country, but the plan goes awry when 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny, living in poverty and writing articles on prison life, receives a telegram from his estranged relative urging him to apply for a male nurse position advertised in the Daily Mail. After pawning his suit, he travels
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/ii.md): Raffles reveals to Bunny how he faked his death and escaped, now living under the alias Mr. Maturin. He explains his elaborate scheme to locate Bunny through his prison articles and a carefully orchestrated advertisement
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/iii.md): Raffles and Bunny, under assumed identities, stage an elaborate scheme to deceive a jeweler, Mr. Robinson, into handing over valuable gems. Raffles uses a duplicate cigarette box to swap the jewels, leaving the jeweler w
- [A Jubilee Present](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/a-jubilee-present.md): Raffles steals a historic gold cup from the British Museum's Room of Gold during the Diamond Jubilee, but his obsession with the artifact leads him to devise a risky plan to hide it in plain sight. After a reconnaissance
- [The Fate of Faustina](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/the-fate-of-faustina.md): Raffles recounts his tragic love affair with Faustina in Italy, her murder by Stefano and Count Corbucci, and his subsequent revenge and escape back to London.
- [The Last Laugh](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/the-last-laugh.md): Raffles and Bunny are followed by Italian organ-grinders connected to the Camorra. Raffles reveals that Count Corbucci and a subordinate have been tracking him. After a tense night, Raffles and Bunny discover the two men
- [To Catch a Thief](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/to-catch-a-thief.md): Raffles and Bunny are drawn into a case involving a stolen diamond necklace. They identify Lord Ernest Belville as the thief and plan a confrontation at King John's Mansions to recover the jewels.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/i.md): Raffles and Bunny discuss a series of audacious society robberies, with Raffles theorizing that the thief is a guest at the events. He identifies Lord Ernest Belville as the suspect, interviews him under a false identity
- [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/ii.md): Raffles and Bunny break into Lord Ernest Belville's flat, discover hollow Indian clubs filled with stolen jewels, and confront Lord Ernest, who mistakes them for detectives. Raffles plays along, confiscates the Kirkleath
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/iii.md): Raffles and Bunny confront Lord Ernest Belville, who has handcuffed Bunny to a bridge over a light well. During a thunderstorm, Raffles steps across a parapet, and Belville falls to his death. The chapter ends with Raffl
- [An Old Flame](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/an-old-flame.md): Raffles and Bunny encounter an old flame of Raffles, leading to a tense reunion that threatens to expose their criminal past.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/i.md): Raffles reveals to Bunny that a woman from his past, Jacques Saillard, has recognized him and threatens to expose him. Despite his attempts to deceive her with a fabricated story of a life of crime, she confronts him at 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/ii.md): Raffles, under pressure from the persistent Jacques Saillard and his doctor Theobald, sends Bunny away to protect their secret. Bunny takes lodgings in Ham Common, but after days of silence, he returns to the flat to fin
- [The Wrong House](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/the-wrong-house.md): Raffles and Bunny attempt to burgle a house in Surbiton, but due to the fog they mistakenly target the wrong house, which is an army crammer's residence full of boys. Raffles gets his hand caught while cutting through a 
- [The Knees of the Gods](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/the-knees-of-the-gods.md): Raffles and Bunny are in South Africa during the Boer War, where Raffles has enlisted under an assumed name. The chapter details their military experiences, the dangers of war, and Raffles' final heroic act leading to hi
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/i.md): Raffles and Bunny discuss the impact of the Boer War on their criminal activities. Initially enthusiastic about the war, they become depressed by British losses. Raffles decides to dye his hair and enlist in the Imperial
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny reflects on his ineptitude as a soldier compared to Raffles, who thrives in the irregular squadron. He describes the bullying Corporal Connal, who targets Bunny until Raffles fights and subdues him. Bunny suspects 
- [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/iii.md): Raffles and Bunny confront Corporal Connal, who has been stealing horses for the enemy. They capture him, but Connal reveals he knows their true identities as the notorious criminals Raffles and Bunny. Despite the exposu
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_black_mask_se/chapters/iv.md): Raffles and Bunny are under heavy fire on the veldt. Bunny is wounded in the thigh, and Raffles tends to him while continuing to shoot. They reminisce about their early thoughts on the war. Corporal Connal is executed fo

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