The Dain Curse · Chapter
II: Long-Nose explained
The narrator canvasses the neighborhood to identify the man seen by Mrs.
What happens
The narrator canvasses the neighborhood to identify the man seen by Mrs. and Miss Leggett, gathering descriptions from Mrs. Priestly and Warren Daley of a tall man with a long nose. He interviews Eric Collinson, who downplays Gabrielle's account of the time, then visits jeweler Watt Halstead to learn about Leggett's background and the diamond transaction involving Owen Fitzstephan. He investigates Minnie Hershey's connections in a Negro neighborhood, then goes to the police station and learns of a murder at an apartment on Golden Gate Avenue. There, he finds O'Gar and Reddy investigating the corpse of Louis Upton, with the diamonds missing and a tall, long-nosed man seen fleeing.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Illusion
Eric Collinson's attempt to mislead about the time of the incident and the conflicting descriptions of the suspect highlight the theme of deception.
Crime and Detection
The chapter focuses on the burglary investigation, witness interviews, and the discovery of a murder, driving the detective plot.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Investigates the burglary, interviews witnesses and suspects, and coordinates with police.
- Gabrielle Leggett
Identified by her mother as having seen the suspect; dismisses Eric Collinson's account of the time.
- Eric Collinson
Downplays Gabrielle's account of the time and describes the suspect as short and chunky.
- Owen Fitzstephan
Mentioned as the writer who introduced Halstead to Leggett's work with glass.
- Minnie Hershey
The Leggetts' maid; her boyfriend Rhino Tingley is a suspect.
- Rhino Tingley
Minnie's boyfriend, described as young, big, black, with a scar on his chin, living off Minnie and pool.
- O'Gar
Police detective investigating the murder of Louis Upton; finds empty diamond envelopes.
- Pat Reddy
O'Gar's partner, a big, jovial young detective.
Key passages
“I put in a couple of hours canvassing the neighborhood, trying to place the man Mrs. and Miss Leggett had seen.”
The narrator spent a few hours going door-to-door to find the man the Leggett women had spotted.
Opening of the chapter, setting up the investigation.
“She’s half blind and won’t wear glasses for fear of losing beauty. She’s always making mistakes like that.”
Eric Collinson claims Gabrielle has poor eyesight and refuses to wear glasses, so she often misjudges things.
Eric dismisses Gabrielle's account of the time.
“The envelopes are here, but the diamonds ain't. They went down the fire-escape with the other guy a little while back.”
O'Gar says the diamond envelopes are present but the diamonds are gone, taken by the accomplice who fled via fire escape.
Reveals the murder and theft at the apartment.