The Cheyne Mystery · Chapter
Concerning a Peerage explained
Maxwell Cheyne, imprisoned on the launch Enid, deduces that his earlier drugging, burglary, and kidnapping are all part of a scheme to obtain a letter from Arnold Price.
What happens
Maxwell Cheyne, imprisoned on the launch Enid, deduces that his earlier drugging, burglary, and kidnapping are all part of a scheme to obtain a letter from Arnold Price. After a harrowing night of thirst and despair, his captor, who reveals himself as Price (not Lamson), explains the conspiracy: it involves a claim to the barony of Hull, based on documents left by St. John Price, who died in a ship collision. Cheyne is released in a dinghy but resolves to turn the tables on the gang.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Identity
Lamson reveals he is actually Price, and the entire kidnapping is part of a scheme involving a false identity and a hidden peerage claim.
Greed and Criminal Conspiracy
The gang's elaborate plot to obtain Price's letter and the peerage documents is driven by the desire for the Hull title and wealth.
Adventure and Detection
Cheyne pieces together the connection between his earlier ordeals and the letter, and later plans to outwit the conspirators.
Trust and Betrayal
Cheyne feels betrayed by the gang's coercion, and Price's initial misrepresentation of the letter's value suggests distrust.
Characters to notice
- Maxwell Cheyne
Imprisoned on the launch, Cheyne deduces the motive behind his earlier ordeals and endures a night of thirst and despair before being released.
- Arnold Price
Referred to as the owner of the letter Cheyne was carrying; he is in the Middle East and has not sought to regain the document.
- Mr. Arthur Lamson
Reveals himself as Price, a cousin of Arnold Price, and explains the peerage claim to Cheyne.
- St. John Price
Deceased uncle of Arnold Price; his discoveries in South Africa and his death on the Maurania are central to the peerage claim.
- Tom Lewisham
Seen untying a dinghy astern of the launch, assisting in the conspirators' escape.
- Lord Hull
The current baron, elderly and without an heir, whose title and wealth are the object of the conspiracy.
Key passages
“Here at last, surely, was the explanation of his previous adventures! The drugging in the hotel in Plymouth, the burglary at Warren Lodge, and now his kidnapping on the Enid were all part and parcel of the same scheme.”
Cheyne realizes that his earlier drugging, the break-in at his home, and his current abduction are all connected.
Cheyne connects the dots between the three incidents.
“It relates to a claim for a peerage. I must admit to you that Lamson is not my name—it is Price, and the Arnold Price whom you knew during the war is my second cousin.”
The conspiracy is about a claim to a barony, and Lamson confesses his real name is Price, a relative of Arnold.
Lamson reveals his true identity and the motive behind the kidnapping.
“St. John Price believed that he, Arnold, and myself were all descended from the eldest son of Francis, the fifth Baron Hull.”
St. John Price thought that he, Arnold, and the speaker were descendants of the eldest son of the fifth Baron Hull.
Explanation of the lineage claim to the peerage.