EVANSTRI

ESANOLEVEL
ByNor
manCol
l
inDext
er

Abouttheauthor-
NormanCol i
nDexterOBE(29September1930–21Mar ch2017)wasanEngli
sh
cri
mewr i
terknownforhi
sInspect
orMorseseri
esofnovel
s,whichwerewri
tt
en
between1975and1999andadapt edasanITVtel
evi
sionser
ies,I
nspect
orMorse,
fr
om 1987to2000

Theme-
Thisisadetectivestorythatdealswiththeaccountofajai
lbr
eakbyEv ans,acriminal
,
whowasanex pertinescapingfrom pri
son.I
tisabouthissmartnessandf oresighti
n
planni
nghisescape.Wi t
hhismet i
cul
ousplanni
ngandkeenobser v at
ion,hebefools
thejai
lauthor
ities,out
smar t
st hem andmanagest oescapefrom thepr i
son.The
storydepi
ctsacl ashofwi tbetweenacr i
minalandthelawenforcingauthori
tiesand
i
sasat ir
eont hegov erni
ngsy stem.

Ift
hegovernmentandlawenfor
cingoffi
cialsar
ev i
gil
ant
,cri
mecanbedetect
edand
cri
minal
scanbebooked.Butsmar toneslikeEvanscanhoodwi
nktheauthor
it
iesand
escapepunishmentaslongast
heof f
ici
alsareslowandlackal
ert
ness.

Characters
JamesRoder i
ckEv ans:aprisoner
SecretaryoftheExami nat
ionBoar d:ahigheroffi
cial
oft
heexami
nat
ionboar
d
Governor:thegovernorofH. M.Pr i
son,Oxford.
Mr.Jackson: apri
sonof fi
cer
Mr.Stephens: apri
sonof f
icer
ReverendSt uar
tMcLeer y:ani nvigi
lat
or
Mr.Car t
er:adetectiv
esuper intendent
Mr.Bel l
:adetecti
vechiefinspect or

Mainpoints-
Ev
ansakl eptomani
acwasi
mpr
isonedt
hri
ceandeacht
imeheescapedf
rom t
he
pr
ison.

Whenhewascaughtfort
he4tht
ime,hewasputint
heOxfordPri
sonatCarf
axThe
r
eaderdoesnotknowwhatt
hechar
gesagai
nsthi
m wer
e.LondonPol
icehadnoother
1
choi
cebuttoputhiminthemostsecur ePrisonwher ejail
br eakswer enotatal
l
common.Evanswasawar eofi t
.Sensi
ngthathewast rappedf orlif
e,Evansmadea
newplantoescapefr
om there.Itwasverycompl i
catedandi nvolv
edmanypeopl eat
thesameti
me.Inthefi
rstweekofhi sar
rest,Evansrequest edt heGov er
norofthej
ail
toall
owhimtolearnGermanashewasgenui nelyi
nterestedi nitandwant edto
acqui
reanacademicdegree.Itwasactuall
yanef f
orttobr eakt heprison.

Thegover
noragreedandarrangedforaGermantut
orforEvans.Buthekeptaclose
vi
gilov
erhi
m wit
hami crophonehiddeninhi
scel
l.
Attheendoft hesi
xmont hs’
coachi
ng,t
hetut
orinf
ormedt heGov er
nort
hathi
sstudentwasreadyfortheexam.

Suspi
ciousasalway
s,t
heGov
ernorcont
act
edt
heexami
nat
ionboar
dandar
ranged
anexam forEv
ans.

(OLev eli
sanordi
nar
ylevelofexaminat
ion)
Theboardcont
actedSt.MaryMagsand
requestedRev
.Stuar
tMcLeer ytogotothepri
sont
oinvi
gil
atetheexam.Thepar
son
agreedandbeganhispreparati
onfort
heexam.

Rev.McLeer ywasgettingreadyt ogotothepr i

sonearlyi
nthemor ni
ngwhentwoof
Evans’fri
endscamet ov i
sithim.Theygaggedandt i
edthepar sonandoneofthem
i
mper sonatedhim.Afterhalfanhourt heywentout–oneoft hem asStuart
McLeer y.
Atthesamet ime, att
hepr i
son,off
icerJacksonandaspeci all
yappoi
nted
off
icer,Mr.Stephens,
wer emaki ngsureifEvanshadanypot ential
weapont omakea
j
ailbreakduringtheexam.

Evanshadputonabobbl ehatandhadn’tshaved.Insi
dethehathehadhi ddenhis
makeupst uffforhisescapeplanandhedel ay
edshav ingforthesmartpurposeof
keepingitsbl adewithhim.Thus,whilegi
vingtherazorbacktoStephensint hemost
art
if
icialhaste, Ev
anstookouti t
sblade.WhenJacksonor deredhimt oremov et
hat
hat,Evansr equestedthekindheartedoff
icerMr.Jacksont ol
ethim keepitashe
consideredt hecapt obehisluckycharm.

Jacksonwasful
lofsy
mpat
hyandt
hehatwasf
ull
oft
hingst
hatEv
ansneededf
or
tr
ansfor
mati
on.

I
twasalready9a.m.whent
heinvi
gil
atorr
eachedthepri
son.Hewasshownhisway
i
ntoEv
ans’ cel
landt
heexam wasabouttostar
tbuttheGover
norf
eltt
hatsomet
hing
waswrong.

2
HeaskedJacksont ogettheparsonfri
sked.Accordi
ngl
yitwasdoneandtheoff
icer
s
confiscat
edapai rofsci
ssorsthattheparsonhadbroughtwi
thhi
m.ItwasforEvans.
Hav i
ngdoneso, theywentonfriski
ngandsear chi
ngti
llt
heyf
oundthatt
heparson–
(Evans’fr
iendwhomadehi mselfupastheparson)–hadgotasemi i
nfl
atedr
ubber
tubeinhisbrief
case.

Theparsondefendedhimselfbysay
ingthatitwasacureforhi
sextremel
ypai
nful
di
seaseofpil
es.Hav i
ngmadeadecentpar sondiscl
oseasecreti
nsuchashameful
manner,t
hetwoof fi
cersf
eltembarr
assed.Theydidn’
twanttosearchanymor
e.He
wasall
owedtor esumehistask.

Whent
heexam beganthereweret
hreemeninthepr
ison–Evanst
owr
it
etheexam,
t
hepar
sontoi
nv i
gil
ateEvansandStephenst
okeepawatch.

Atthecommencementoft
heexam,
Evanshadt
ogetr
idofof
fi
cerSt
ephensandget
somethi
ngtocoverhi
msel
fwi
th.

Theseherequir
edbecausehewasnotgoi
ngtowri
teanyGer
manOlev
elExam.He
wasonlygoingtodi
sguisehi
msel
fasthepar
sonwhohadcometoi
nvi
gil
atehi
m!

Bycomplai
ningt
hati
twasextremelycol
dinsi
deandhewasnotabl
etoconcent
rat
e,
Evansmanagedtogetabl
anketforhi
mselfandal
sogetSt
ephensoutoft
hecel
l.

TheExam beganinf ul
lswing.TheInvi
gil
atorr
emainedreadi
nghismagazine,
Stephenswentupanddownt hecorri
dor,t
heGovernorhimsel
fli
stenedt
ot he
l
oudspeakerthatcaughtconversat
ionsfr
om Evans’cel
landJacksonkeptawatchof
al
l t
herest
.

Keepingapenbet weenhi sli

ps, Evansobser v
edSt ephen’spositi
oninthecor r
idor
withthehelpoftheshining,bulbousheadoft hepen.Thecl oserStephenscame, t
he
dimmerwast hebri
ght
nessoft hepen- head.
Wel l,t
herer emainedjustfivemore
minutesfortheexaminat i
ontoendandEv ansandhi sfr
iend, t
heinvigi
l
at or
,
accomplishedallt
hatwasapar toftheirpl
an.Ev ansputont heextrapairofcl
er i
cal
dress–cassock, f
ront
, coll
ar,etc.–t hathi
sfriendhadbr oughtinandgl uedaf ake
beard.

Justf
iveminut
eswer elef
twhenSt
ephensheardJacksonshout
ingfrom t
heother
endofthecorr
idor
,inf
orminghi
mthatt
heGov er
norwasont het
elephoneli
ne,
3
want
ingt
otal
ktohi
m.St
ephenswasmor
ethanexci
ted.

Hewasf eel
i
ngpr oudofhi
mselfbecausetheGover
norwant
edtotal
ktohi
m!
St
ephensattendedthecal
l–well,i
twasnottheGover
norwhospoketohi
m norwas
i
tJacksonwhoy ell
edfr
om theotherend!

Excit
ementcanmakewi semenmakeunf orgiv
ableerror
s.Asperthecall
,Stephens
carr
iedoutt heGovernor
’sorders–t ooktheinvi
gil
atorfr
om t
hecellandledhim out
oftheprisonandonceagai nreturnedtoEvans’cell
tomakesur ehewasr eall
yther
e.
Lookingthroughthepeephole,Stephenssawt hemostunbeliev
ablesighti
nhi sl
if
e–
theinvi
gil
ator,notEv
answasi nsidethecell
!

Butthatwast
hedecept
ion.I
nreal
i
ty,
Evanswasst
il
li
nsi
deandhi
sfr
iend,
thedupe
i
nvigi
lat
orwasout
.

Acompl etechaosfoll
owed.Inutt
erdi
sbeli
ef ,
Stephenscall
edforJacksonandinno
ti
met heenti
repri
sonwasr oused.Off
icer
sr ushedtoEvans’cel
landsawt het
ortur
ed
parson,t
hepoorinvigi
lat
or,
bleedi
ngprofuselyandwasf eel
ingweak.

Everyoner
eachedtheoneandonl
yconcl
usi
on–Ev
anshadescapedaf
terbeat
ingt
he
parsonandfool
ingStephens.

TheGov
ernorhad,
bythi
sti
me,cal
ledi
ndetect
iveCart
ert
ofindt
heescapedpri
soner
andi
nnotimethefamousdet
ect
ivear
ri
vedandoffer
edtohelpt
heGovernor
.

Hegotav agueideaaboutt
hestat
eofaff
air
sandwasr eadytor
unouttogetthe
escapedpri
sonerwhenthe“bl
eedi
ng”i
nvi
gil
atormadeanunusualoff
ertohel
pthe
poli
ceandthedetect
ive–hesaidheknewwhereEvanscouldbefound.

Thatmadesense.I
faparson(
Pri
est),
especi
all
yonebeatenanddyi
ng,off
eredto
hel
pthepoli
ce,t
her
eissomesense.TheGov er
norall
owedthepar
son(Evansin
di
sgui
se)toaccompanyt
hedetect
iveandtogethert
heywentouti
nthelat
ter’
scar.

Thi
swasunusual
becauseEv
anshadagoodchancet
oescapef
rom t
hepr
isonbut
hedi
dn’
t.

Backinthepri
son,theGov ernorabusedJacksonandSt ephensaft
erwhi chhe
examinedEvans’cellandprocuredav er
yimportantevi
denceregar
dingEv ans.I
twas
thecorr
ecti
onsli
pt hatEvanshadsof ooli
shl
y,leftbehi
ndandithadahi dden
messagewr i
tt
enoni tsback.Hewasheadi ngtoNewbur y
.Thecorrect
ionslipwasa

4
par
tofEv
ans’
plan.Butt
hepl
anhadbackf
ir
ed.

Itseemedthatt
hesmar tEvanshadmadeami stake.TheGovernorcontact
edthe
detect
ivef
orupdat
esandwast ol
dthathehadspottedEvanstwice.TheGov er
nor
couldnotbel
iev
ethat.Hebelievedthecorr
ect
ionslipanddeci
dedt oreachGolden
LionHotel
,Newbury
,beforeEv ansgotther
e.

Inthemeanwhile,theGov er
norwasinfor
medt hatt
heparsonwasadmitt
edtot
he
Radcli
ffHospi
talintheemer gency
.ButwhentheGov er
norcont
actedt
heambulance
secti
on,hewast ol
dt hattheambulancecoul
dnotlocat
eableedi
ngparsonl
i
kethe
onedescri
bedbydet ectiv
eCar t
er.

Wit
hnocluesaboutthedisappear
anceoftheparson,t
heGovernort
elephonedMary
Mags(wheret
heparsonlived)anduponbreaki
ngintoRev.St
uartMcl
eery’sroom,
t
heyfoundoutt
hattherealparsonhadnevergoneout!Thetr
uthmostlyout,the
Gover
norknewwhatwast obedone.Wi t
haskill
edassist
ant,
hedrovetoGol denLi
on
Hot
el.Hewasexcit
ed.

PoorEv ans,
ithadtakenhim si
xmont hstoarr
angeever
ythi
ng,
butnowhewasgoing
torunintotr
oubleagain.Notknowinghowhiscorr
ecti
onsli
phaddecei
vedhi
m, he
reachedtheHotel,
madehi sspecialorder
satther
ecept
ionandgoti
ntohi
sroom.

Helockedt
hedoorandmovedtothebedtorestandsl
eep.Butsi
tt
ingont
hebed
wastheGover
nor,
laughi
ngout
,beamingwit
hpride.

HeaskedEvansnott
otr
yanyt
hing,andEv
anshadalreadytr
iedhar
denough.
Def
eated,
hesatdownonthef
loorandthi
sthr
il
ledt
heGov ernor
.

TheGov ernorwalkeddownt othepri

sonv ehi
clesparkedoutsi
deandEvansfol
l
owed,
handcuffed.Onthewayt heGover
noraskedEvanst oexpl
ainhowhemanagedt oget
thebloodandal l
t heothermakeupandEv anshadhishumbl eanswer
s,st
il
l
accepti
nghi sdefeat.Evanswashandcuff
edbyapr isonoffi
cerandwastakent
othe
pri
sonv an.

Thevanmov edandt heGover

norf
oll
oweditwi
thanebbingheart
,imagi
ninghis
consequenthonourandawardsi
ngett
ingt
hesmartestpri
soneri
nthewor l
d.

Thi
swayEvansescaped!Thepr
isonof
fi
cer
sint
hev
anwer
eEv
ans’
fri
ends,
di
sgui
sed.

5
Anoverconf
identGovernorhadneveranti
cipatedthi
s.Hewouldsoonl
earnthatthi
s
wasalsoapartofEvans’pl
anthathehadl eftthecorr
ecti
onsl
ipi
nhiscel
land
wal
kedintot
heHot elr
oom clear
lyknowingt hattheGover
norwoul
dbewaiti
ngf or
hi
m.

Quest
ionAnswer
s
1.Whydidt
heGover
norappl
yforanexami
nat
ionf
orEv
ans?

Ans.Evanswasapr i
sonerintheOxfordPri
son.Hehadconv incedtheaut
horit
iest
hat
hewasgenuinelyi
nterest
edinlear
ningGermanandwast utor edf
orawhile.When
thetut
orannouncedthatEvanswaspr epar
edforanO’Lev
el exam,theGov er
norof
thepri
sonappli
edtotheExami nat
ionBoardforhi
sexam.

2.WhowasMcLeer y?Whatishisroleinthestory
?
Ans.Rev.McLeerywasapar sonatSt .MaryMags, amonastery
.Hewassupposed
toinvi
gil
ateEv
an’sexaminati
onattheOxf or
dPr i
son.Hewasaboutt oleav
ehis
resi
dencefort
hepr i
sonwhent woofEv ans’f
ri
endsenteredhisroom andti
edand
gaggedhim sothatEvanscouldescapefrom thepri
son.

3.WhywasEv ansparti
cularaboutkeepinghishatonhi sheaddur inghisexam?
Ans.Ev answor eabobbl ehatatthet i
meofhisexami nation.Whenhewasaskedt o
remov eit,hepleadedtoletitstaybecausehebelieveditwashi sluckycharm.In
reali
ty,hehadhi ddensomeoft hemakeupmat eri
alsinhishatwhi chwast hereason
whyhedi dn’
twantt oremov eit
.Hel at
erusedallthemat eri
alshiddeninsi
deto
disguisehimselfandev entual
lyescapedfrom capti
vit
y.

4.Whatwast heint
entionbehindthecall
from theExaminati
onsBoard?
Ans.ItwasoneofEv ans’fr
iendswhomadet hecallf
rom t
heExami nat
ionBoard.
Thiscallwaspri
mar i
l
ymeantf orconfi
rmingthestarti
ngti
mei nordert
ocalcul
atethe
endingti
meoft heexam.Theequal l
yimpor t
antreasonbehindthi
scallwasto
misguidetheGovernorint
oHot el
GoldenLiontoar r
estEvansfrom t
hereandther
eby
tomaket heescapealtoget
hersafer.

5.Whathad‘McLeer y’
broughtwi t
hhimt ot
heprisontohelpEv ans’escape?
Ans.Evans’f
ri
endwhowasdr essedupl ikeMcLeer yhadbr oughtsomev eryusef
ul
art
icl
esforEvans’
escape.Hehadwor nanext racler
icalcol
larandacl er
icalf
ront
.In
hi
sbaghehadcar riedasemi i
nflatedrubbertubefil
ledwithblood.Hehadal so
carri
edapapersci
ssorsevent houghitwasf ri
skedbyt heprisonauthori
ti
es.

6
6.Whatcoul dtheGov er
norhav edonet osecur elybr i
ngbackEv anst othepr i
son
whenhecaughthi m attheGoldenLi on?Doest hatf i
nalactoff oolishnessr eal
ly
provethat“
hewasj ustanothergood- f
or-a-gi
ggle, gull
ibl
egov ernor ,t
hatwasal l
”?
Ans.TheGov ernortookal l
theprecaut i
onst omakesur ethatEv ansshoul dnothav e
anychancet oescapef r
om t hepri
son.Heev ent rackedandar r
est edhi m atthe
GoldenLionaf t
erhissensationalescapef rom thepr ison.Buthi sov erconfi
dence
onceagainpr ovedthathewasnomat chf orthecl everandcr aftyEv ans.Af t
erfi
nding
thecluesfr
om t hequestionpaper,het r
ackedEv ansatt heGol denLi on.Ev answas
shockedtoseet heGovernorbutheof ferednor esi st
anceandgotar rested.The
gull
ibl
eGov ernorgloat
edov erhissuccessandsai dgoodby et ohi m.

Evanswashandcuf fedandmadet ositinthepoli

cev an.TheGov ernordi
dnott ake
caretochecktheidenti
tyofthedriv
er,thevanandt heoffi
cer.Alit
tl
emor evigi
lance
couldhaveavert
edt heescapeofthecriminal
.Ifhehadaccompani edEvanstot he
pri
soncellwit
hfullpoli
cearrangementsthecri
mi nalwouldnothav eescaped.This
actofnegli
genceprovedthathewas“ justanot
hergood- f
or-a-gi
gglegul
li
blegov er
nor
thatwasall
”.