# II explained — The Mystery of Edwin Drood > Chapter companion for The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. ## What happens The narrator, Mr. Sapsea, encounters the young man Poker in the street shortly after the Club meeting. Sapsea recounts how he championed Poker's cause, and the two engage in a conversation where Poker flatters Sapsea's perceived penetration and wisdom, revealing his name and hinting at his purpose in town. ## Themes in this chapter ### Class and Social Hierarchy Sapsea's condescending and self-important manner toward Poker highlights the social dynamics and pretensions of rank. ### Duality and Deception Poker's evasive and flattering responses suggest a layer of deception beneath his apparent deference. ## Character check-ins ### Thomas Sapsea Narrates the chapter, recounting his encounter with Poker and his own self-important role in the affair. ### Poker The young man whose cause Sapsea championed; he engages in flattering conversation with Sapsea and reveals his name. ## Key lines > Whom should I meet in the street, within a few yards of the door of the inn where the Club was held, but the selfsame young man whose cause I had felt it my duty so warmly⁠—and I will add so disinterestedly⁠—to take up. I ran into the same young man I had so generously defended, right near the inn where the Club met. _Sapsea emphasizes his own role in the young man's affairs._ > “Mr. Sapsea,” he answered, looking down, “your penetration is so acute, your glance into the souls of your fellow men is so penetrating, that if I was hardly enough to deny that my name is Poker, what would it avail me?” He said that my insight was so sharp that denying his name would be pointless. _Poker flatters Sapsea's supposed perceptiveness._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/chapters/ii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/chapters