The Grand Babylon Hotel · Chapter
The Steam Launch explained
Theodore Racksole, determined to capture Jules, enlists the help of a Customs officer, George Hazell, to search for the steam launch that carried Tom Jackson away.
What happens
Theodore Racksole, determined to capture Jules, enlists the help of a Customs officer, George Hazell, to search for the steam launch that carried Tom Jackson away. They embark on a nighttime expedition on the Thames, and a clue about the launch's irregular propeller leads them to suspect it is Jack Everett's boat, the 'Squirm', last seen at Cherry Gardens Pier.
Themes in this chapter
Mystery and Intrigue
The nighttime search on the Thames is shrouded in mystery, with Racksole feeling the strangeness and portentous significance of the river.
Wealth and Power
Racksole's wealth enables him to command unofficial assistance from a high Customs official and hire Hazell, illustrating the influence of money.
Characters to notice
- Theodore Racksole
Leads the search for Jules' steam launch, hires George Hazell, and embarks on a nighttime Thames expedition.
- George Hazell
A Customs examining officer who assists Racksole in the unofficial search, providing his boat and river expertise.
- Jules
The ex-waiter whose escape via steam launch is the target of Racksole's search.
- Tom Jackson
Mentioned as having escaped from the hotel using the steam launch.
- Jack Everett
Identified as the owner of the launch 'Squirm', which matches the description of the vessel used in the escape.
Key passages
“Mr. Tom Jackson’s notion of making good his escape from the hotel by means of a steam launch was an excellent one, so far as it went, but Theodore Racksole, for his part, did not consider that it went quite far enough.”
Tom Jackson's plan to flee the hotel via steam launch was clever, but Racksole thought it was only a partial success.
Sets up Racksole's determination to pursue the escapees further.
“To such people the idea of looking for a steam launch on the river would be about equivalent to the idea of looking for a needle in a bundle of hay.”
Searching for a steam launch on the Thames seemed as futile as finding a needle in a haystack to the uninitiated.
Highlights the challenge of the search.
“I have a private car on the New York Central, and I have a two thousand ton schooner-yacht—though it isn’t on the Hudson. It happens just now to be on East River. And I am bound to admit that the stables of my uptown place are fitted with marble.”
Racksole confirms he owns a private railroad car, a large yacht, and marble stables, fitting the stereotype of a wealthy millionaire.
Illustrates Racksole's immense wealth and the contrast with Hazell's modest life.
“Her screw seemed to move with a rather irregular, lame sort of beat.”
The launch's propeller had an uneven, limping sound.
This clue leads to the identification of the vessel as Jack Everett's 'Squirm'.