Return of the Wild Geese explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• The Double Life

  Lumley is publicly eulogized as a cultured philanthropist while secretly controlling a vast criminal underworld; the narrator must keep the truth hidden.

• Order vs. Chaos

  Lumley's death dismantles his criminal empire, leaving his network leaderless; the narrator reflects on the 'vast subterranean machine' now reduced to 'old iron.'

• Loyalty and Friendship

  The narrator protects Pitt-Heron's secret and arranges his return; Tommy's loyalty is evident in his adventures and his trust in the narrator.

Characters to notice

• Mr. Andrew Lumley

  Dies suddenly of heart failure; the press eulogizes him as a great man, but the narrator knows the truth about his criminal empire.

• Mr. Leithen

  The narrator; reads of Lumley's death, attends the funeral, arranges Pitt-Heron's return, and later meets Tommy in his chambers.

• Mr. Chapman

  Reacts with fury to a newspaper's praise of Lumley; switches to the Morning Post; is trusted to keep silent.

• Tommy Deloraine

  Returns from his adventures, lean and sunburnt; visits Leithen in his chambers and is told that Leithen knows the full story.

• Charles Pitt-Heron

  The wanderer whose return is arranged via a telegram about Lumley's death; his secret is preserved.

• Ethel Pitt-Heron

  Her glowing face signals that her troubles are over when Charles's return is imminent.

• Macgillivray

  One of the few who knows the full story; trusted to remain silent.

• Monsieur Felix

  Helps arrange the telegraphing of Lumley's death news to a Russian paper; trusted to keep silent.

Key passages

• “I do not think I was surprised at the news I read in The Times next morning. Mr. Andrew Lumley had died suddenly in the night of heart failure, and the newspapers woke up to the fact that we had been entertaining a great man unawares.”

  The narrator was unsurprised to learn of Lumley's sudden death from heart failure, as the press belatedly recognized him as a great figure.

  Opening lines; sets up the public myth versus private truth.

• “He was a Napoleon who left no Marshals behind him. From the Powerhouse came no wreaths or newspaper tributes, but I knew that it had lost its power.”

  Lumley was a leader whose criminal organization had no successors; his death rendered it powerless.

  Reflects on the collapse of Lumley's empire.

• “I wanted Charles to believe that his secret died with Lumley, for otherwise I don’t think he would have ever come back to England.”

  The narrator ensured Pitt-Heron thought his secret was buried with Lumley, so he would feel safe returning to England.

  Explains the careful arrangement of Pitt-Heron's return.

• “Suddenly the door opened, and Tommy, lean and sunburnt, stalked in. 'Still at the old grind,' he cried, after we had shaken hands. 'Fellows like you give me a notion of the meaning of Eternity.'”

  Tommy enters Leithen's chambers, looking weathered from his travels, and teases him about his unchanging routine.

  Tommy's return and playful banter.

• “Then I achieved my first and last score at the expense of Tommy Deloraine. 'No,' I said, 'you will dine with me instead and I will tell you the full story. All the papers on the subject are over there in my safe.'”

  Leithen finally gets the better of Tommy by revealing he knows the complete story, which he keeps in his safe.

  Climactic moment where Leithen gains the upper hand.