# Adventure of the Gold Tiberius explained — The Three Impostors > Chapter companion for The Three Impostors by Arthur Machen. ## What happens Mr. Dyson and Mr. Charles Phillipps meet by chance in a tobacco shop and become friends, debating the nature of literature and art. Later, Dyson recounts a strange encounter in a London street where he witnessed a man fleeing in terror and another pursuing with a knife. He discovered a rare gold Tiberius coin dropped by the fleeing man. Phillipps is skeptical and warns Dyson to be cautious, but Dyson is eager to pursue the mystery, seeing it as the beginning of a grand adventure. ## Themes in this chapter ### Urban Mystery and the Sublime The chapter presents London streets as a setting where ordinary life gives way to sudden, terrifying glimpses of the unknown, as when Dyson witnesses a man fleeing in terror and the ground seems to glow red hot. ### Art vs. Reality and Storytelling Dyson and Phillipps debate the role of imagination versus scientific basis in literature, with Dyson favoring pure invention and Phillipps insisting on a foundation in reality. ### Deception and Identity The gold coin itself is storied with legends and deceptions, and the chapter hints at hidden identities and motives behind the pursuit in the street. ## Character check-ins ### Mr. Dyson A man of letters and idle spectator, he becomes fascinated by the mysterious gold coin and the strange events surrounding it. ### Mr. Charles Phillipps A student of physical science and ethnologist, he is skeptical of Dyson's romantic interpretation of the events and prefers to rely on reason. ## Key lines > My dear sir, I will give you the task of the literary man in a phrase. He has got to do simply this: to invent a wonderful story, and to tell it in a wonderful manner. Dyson states that the writer's sole job is to create an amazing tale and narrate it brilliantly. _Dyson expresses his view on the primacy of imagination in literature._ > I will grant you that, but you will allow me to insist that in the hands of the true artist in words all stories are marvellous, and every circumstance has its peculiar wonder. The matter is of little consequence, the manner is everything. Phillipps agrees but argues that a skilled writer can make any subject fascinating through style alone. _Phillipps counters Dyson's view, emphasizing the importance of artistic execution over content._ > It was queer enough what I saw; a man is sauntering along a quiet, sober, everyday London street, a street of gray houses and blank walls, and there, for a moment, a veil seems drawn aside, and the very fume of the pit steams up through the flagstones, the ground glows, red hot, beneath his feet, and he seems to hear the hiss of the infernal cauldron. Dyson describes how a mundane London street suddenly revealed a terrifying, hellish vision during the chase. _Dyson's account highlights the theme of urban mystery and the sublime._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_three_impostors_se/chapters/adventure-of-the-gold-tiberius - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_three_impostors_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_three_impostors_se/chapters