The Footsteps at the Lock · Chapter
XXI: A Walk in the Dark explained
Bredon and Leyland attempt to follow the stranger in the punt, but after a difficult overland journey through fields and obstacles, they lose track of him.
What happens
Bredon and Leyland attempt to follow the stranger in the punt, but after a difficult overland journey through fields and obstacles, they lose track of him. They return to the Gudgeon, where Angela has supper waiting. They discuss their next move, suspecting the stranger may have abandoned the punt and taken a bus to Oxford. Suddenly, Edward Farris—the stranger himself—arrives at the inn asking for Inspector Leyland.
Themes in this chapter
Detection and Rational Inquiry
Bredon and Leyland methodically plan their pursuit of the stranger, considering routes, timing, and contingencies.
Appearance vs. Reality
The stranger's identity is hidden until the end of the chapter, when Edward Farris appears unexpectedly.
Characters to notice
- Miles Bredon
Exhausted from earlier exertions, he joins Leyland at Millington Bridge to wait for the stranger, then struggles through the dark fields back to the Gudgeon.
- Mr. Leyland
Coordinates the surveillance of the stranger, discusses plans with Bredon, and regrets forgetting the canoe paddles.
- Angela
Waits at the Gudgeon with supper, buys whisky for the men, and reports that Nigel is asleep upstairs.
- Edward Farris
Arrives at the Gudgeon asking for Inspector Leyland, revealed to be the stranger in the punt.
- Nigel Burtell
Asleep upstairs at the Gudgeon; the doctor says he can get up a bit tomorrow.
Key passages
“Bredon made no great pace up the river; he was exhausted by his twenty-five minutes of variety performance at the lock, and there was, besides, no need for haste.”
Bredon paddled slowly upstream because he was tired from his earlier struggle at the lock and didn't need to hurry.
Describes Bredon's physical state and the relaxed pace of the pursuit.
“All journeys seem long in the dark; the familiar distance between Shipcote and Eaton Bridge had lengthened itself out into a nightmare.”
Traveling at night makes even short distances feel endless and oppressive.
Highlights the psychological difficulty of their nighttime trek.
“It was not likely that the bearer of such a name would be kept waiting. Angela looked in, raised her eyebrows, and held the door open for the newcomer. Four eyes, still blinking after a long trudge in the darkness, turned towards it, and saw, unmistakable on the threshold, the figure of the stranger in the punt.”
Angela quickly brought Edward Farris in, and Bredon and Leyland recognized him as the man they had been following on the river.
Climactic reveal that the stranger is Edward Farris.