ClassicNovels

Greenmantle guide

John Buchan, 1916 · Begin reading

Summary

During the First World War, Sir Walter Bullivant sends Richard Hannay to investigate a German scheme to stir up a Muslim holy war against Britain and its allies. Bullivant’s son Harry died bringing back three clues: “Kasredin,” “cancer,” and “v. I.” Hannay recruits Sandy Arbuthnot, John Blenkiron and Peter Pienaar. They take separate routes towards Constantinople, using disguises to penetrate German and Turkish circles.

Hannay and Peter enter Germany posing as anti-British Boer rebels. Colonel Stumm takes an interest in them, but his brutality makes their position dangerous. Hannay glimpses a map connected with operations farther east, then escapes after knocking Stumm unconscious. While recovering from malaria in a poor woman’s cottage, he realizes that “v. I.” means von Einem. He continues down the Danube as a riverboat engineer and eventually reaches Constantinople with Peter.

After a hostile crowd corners them, an apparent arrest brings them to safety: Sandy, disguised as a dancer, has arranged their rescue. Reunited with Blenkiron, they concentrate on Hilda von Einem, a powerful German conspirator. Hannay and Peter assume new identities while Sandy investigates. Hannay meets Hilda and feels the force of her personality. Sandy discovers that the Germans intend to send the religious figure Greenmantle to Erzerum to rally Turkish resistance against the Russians.

Hannay, Blenkiron and Peter travel east with their guide Hussin. Rasta recognizes Hannay and can warn officials along their route. Although they escape pursuit in a stolen car, Stumm captures them near Erzerum. Hussin frees them from his cellar prison and finds them another refuge. Hannay surveys the city’s defences and gives Peter Stumm’s stolen map and papers to carry through the Turkish lines. Peter crosses the snowy countryside successfully and delivers the intelligence to a Russian general who knows him from an earlier hunting expedition.

The climax finds Hannay and his companions trapped in a hilltop fortification. Hilda is dead and buried nearby; Blenkiron is incapacitated by injury. Stumm bombards their position while riflemen prevent escape. Hannay expects them to die, but a victorious advance breaks the crisis. He rides towards burning Erzerum as Turkish troops scatter and sees a turbaned rider in green leading the charge, recognizing Greenmantle’s appearance as the fulfilment of the prophecy.

The supplied chapter summaries leave Hannay alive and advancing into Erzerum, Sandy alive beside him shortly before the relief, Blenkiron wounded, and Peter safely received by the Russians. Hilda is dead. They do not specify Stumm’s final fate, explain Hilda’s death, identify the green-clad rider, or give the companions’ subsequent lives.

The ending

With Hilda dead and Blenkiron wounded, Hannay and Sandy face destruction under Stumm’s bombardment. A victorious advance saves their position, and Hannay rides towards burning Erzerum as the Turks retreat, seeing a green-clad rider whom he recognizes as Greenmantle. Peter has successfully delivered the stolen military intelligence to the Russians; the supplied summaries do not establish Stumm’s fate or the companions’ later futures.

Characters

Also appearing

  • Harry
  • Botha
  • God
  • Billy Arbuthnot
  • Paddock
  • Cecil Rhodes
  • Beyers
  • Letsitela
  • Carowab
  • Nkitla
  • Solly Maritz
  • Prince Rupprecht
  • Captain Zorn
  • Smuts
  • Dolly Riddell
  • Ambassador Gerard
  • Tressler
  • Zimmerman
  • Riza
  • Black Monty
  • Dreyser
  • General von Oesterzee
  • Mademoiselle Cici
  • Moellendorff
  • Talaat
  • Tommy Elliot
  • Greenmantle
  • General Liman
  • Djemal
  • David
  • Kiamil
  • Ahmed Fevzi
  • Jim Hooker
  • Prjevalsky
  • Grand Duke Nicholas
  • Michael

Chapter by chapter

Chapter 1: A Mission is Proposed

Sir Walter Bullivant summons Richard Hannay to London and asks him to undertake a dangerous mission. Hannay accepts and receives three clues: Kasredin, cancer, and v. I. Bullivant reveals that his son Harry died bringing back the clues, leaving Hannay to discover their meaning.

Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Missionaries

Hannay chooses Sandy Arbuthnot as a colleague, and Bullivant sends him to meet John Blenkiron. The three discuss their disguises and routes, with Hannay planning to cross Germany as a Boer rebel who hates Britain. They drink to their next meeting, though Hannay feels their plans are hopelessly inadequate.

Chapter 3: Peter Pienaar

Sandy leaves for Cairo, while Blenkiron publicly attacks Britain to establish his cover. In Lisbon, Hannay and Peter Pienaar persuade a German agent that they are Boer rebels seeking work. The agent supplies tickets and money, and they sail for Rotterdam with German assistance.

Chapter 4: Adventures of Two Dutchmen on the Loose

Hannay and Peter enter Germany under their Boer identities and undergo a thorough border inspection. Hannay presses Stumm about German plans for a holy war, but Stumm denies having a secret and violently asserts his authority. Hannay controls his anger because Stumm may lead him to useful information.

Chapter 5: Further Adventures of the Same

Hannay and Peter are taken to inspect a German prisoner camp, and Hannay later glimpses a map marking a journey into Syria. Gaudian interrupts before Hannay can examine the map closely. Stumm and Gaudian agree to use Hannay, and Stumm orders him to accompany him home for instructions.

Chapter 6: The Indiscretions of the Same

Stumm confronts Hannay after Peter is jailed for drunken insults against the Kaiser and the German army. Hannay later fights Stumm and realizes that he must overcome him to survive. Hannay knocks Stumm unconscious, locks him in the room, and escapes to continue his journey.

Chapter 7: Christmastide

Richard Hannay tricks Stumm’s servant into letting him leave and gets a ride with Franz in a postal car. During his escape, Hannay becomes feverish and finds shelter in a poor woman’s cottage. He uses Stumm’s pass to secure her silence, gives her food and money, and goes to bed in her garret.

Chapter 8: The Essen Barges

Hannay recovers from malaria in the cottage and realizes that Harry Bullivant’s clue “v. I.” means von Einem. He secures passage towards Rustchuk by offering to replace a riverboat’s dead engineer. As the boat departs, Hannay sees men searching the nearby roads and fields and realizes he has narrowly escaped Stumm’s pursuit.

Chapter 9: The Return of the Straggler

Hannay works as the riverboat’s engineer and helps Captain Schenk with the journey down the Danube. Seeing occupied Belgrade strengthens Hannay and Peter Pienaar’s determination to carry out their mission. As they prepare to leave, Hannay spots Blenkiron among German, Austrian and Bulgarian officials and hears him discussing British withdrawals and an attack on Egypt.

Chapter 10: The Garden-House of Suliman the Red

Hannay manages the unloading at Rustchuk while Schenk is ill and challenges a Turkish officer who offers him money to accept altered cargo records. Hannay and Peter reach Constantinople, where Angelo Kuprasso invites them to a dance performance at his Pavilion. After leaving Kuprasso, Peter notices that they are being followed, and a crowd approaches them near a mosque.

Chapter 11: The Companions of the Rosy Hours

A mob stirred up by Rasta corners Hannay and Peter, accusing them of being Germans and spies. They defend themselves with pistols, but are taken away under guard and expect imprisonment and interrogation. Instead, they enter a comfortable room where the disguised dancer greets Hannay as an old friend.

Chapter 12: Four Missionaries See Light in their Mission

Sandy reveals that his men staged the arrest to rescue Hannay and Peter and bring them safely to Blenkiron’s quarters. Hannay’s discovery directs their investigation towards Hilda von Einem, whom Blenkiron regards as exceptionally clever and dangerous. Sandy undertakes to find her address and takes Hannay and Peter’s clothes to plant evidence that the two Dutchmen have drowned.

Chapter 13: I Move in Good Society

Richard Hannay and Peter adopt new disguises supplied by Blenkiron, and Hannay moves about Constantinople as an American. Hannay meets Enver, whom Gaudian distrusts despite their alliance. Blenkiron returns from visiting Hilda von Einem convinced that she is dangerous and cruel, but without news of Greenmantle.

Chapter 14: The Lady of the Mantilla

Hannay and Blenkiron wait anxiously for Sandy while their planned departure for Mesopotamia draws near. Hannay meets Hilda von Einem, who questions him about his life and experience of danger. Hannay rides home with Peter deeply impressed by her power, and Sandy’s messenger tells him to expect Sandy at midnight.

Chapter 15: An Embarrassed Toilet

Rasta brings Hannay passports for Mesopotamia and recognizes him as the wanted man who used the name Brandt. Hannay’s destination changes to Erzerum under Hilda von Einem’s arrangements, and Sandy explains that the Germans are sending Greenmantle there to rally the Turkish defence. Sandy leaves to prepare, while Hannay and Blenkiron face the journey with excitement and fear of Hilda.

Chapter 16: The Battered Caravanserai

Hannay, Blenkiron and Peter travel east by train to Angora with Hussin as their guide. Hannay steals a car and collects his companions while men fire at them. They escape, but Peter reveals that Rasta recognized Hannay and can use the telegraph to warn officials ahead.

Chapter 17: Trouble by The Waters of Babylon

Hannay drives rapidly towards Erzerum, hoping that Hilda von Einem’s authority will protect his party against Rasta’s accusations. Colonel Stumm captures Hannay, Peter and Blenkiron, though Blenkiron’s warning about his American citizenship makes Stumm hesitate. Stumm sends the three men to his own quarters under armed guard, while Hussin escapes.

Chapter 18: Sparrows on the Housetops

Hussin frees Hannay, Peter and Blenkiron from Stumm’s cellar prison and leads them to another hiding place. Hannay secretly climbs to the roof and studies Erzerum, its defences and the surrounding mountains. Hannay locates their refuge south of the city and the nearest Russian positions, then tells Peter that a major task awaits him.

Chapter 19: Greenmantle

Richard Hannay shows Peter Pienaar Stumm’s stolen map and papers, and Peter agrees to carry them to the Russians. Peter studies the route and prepares to cross the Turkish lines unseen. He leaves through the roof as Hannay and Blenkiron remain behind amid gunfire and a rising storm.

Chapter 20: Peter Pienaar Goes to the Wars

Peter Pienaar crosses the snowy countryside and reaches the Russian lines with Stumm’s map and papers. Russian officers take him to a general who recognises him from a hunting expedition years before. The general welcomes Peter and celebrates the valuable intelligence he has delivered.

Chapter 21: The Little Hill

Richard Hannay and Blenkiron wait anxiously in hiding after Peter Pienaar’s departure. Later, Hannay and his companions are trapped in a hilltop fortification, with Hilda von Einem buried nearby and Blenkiron crippled. Stumm’s gun shells their position while riflemen block their escape, leaving Hannay expecting death.

Chapter 22: The Guns of the North

Richard Hannay and Sandy prepare shelter during a pause in Stumm’s shelling. Their desperate situation gives way to a victorious advance, and Hannay rides towards burning Erzerum as Turkish troops scatter. He sees a turbaned rider wearing green leading the charge and recognises the appearance of Greenmantle as the fulfilment of the prophecy.

Storylines

  • Sandy is to pack both men's kit and join Dick if Dick summons him by telegram.

    • Dick summons Sandy, briefs him on the special service and its danger, and secures his commitment to join.

  • Dick and Sandy's companionship includes a life-saving debt: Sandy saved Dick at Loos and now agrees to stand ready to join him.

    • Sandy commits despite understanding the danger and feeling fear; his ready agreement gives Dick renewed courage.
    • Sandy again protects Dick, arranging the apparent arrest to rescue him from capture.
    • Anxiety over Sandy's silence gives way to a clandestine reunion; Dick accepts his warning and preserves his cover.
    • Sandy again risks himself to save Dick, freeing the prisoners, diverting pursuit and bringing them to shelter with food.
    • Dick recalls Sandy's rescue of him at Loos and assumes responsibility for saving him; Dick's support and practical leadership restore Sandy's hope.

  • Dick accepts the mission to discover the secret behind the promised revelation moving from the West towards Constantinople.

    • Dick renews his commitment, briefs and recruits his partners, and turns the investigation into a preliminary operational plan.
    • Dick begins his journey, recruits Peter and secures onward passage towards the German route, though he has not yet uncovered the revelation.
    • Dick reaches Berlin, gains access to senior German officials and identifies potentially useful contacts, including an unexplained connection to Hilda.
    • Dick overhears a possible name connected with Germany's Muslim asset, notices marked journeys into Asia Minor and Syria, and gains prospective employment by Stumm and Gaudian.
    • Dick still lacks a clue to the revelation, and Stumm's Egypt assignment obstructs his intended journey. Escape restores independent action but does not yet establish a route to his objective.
    • Dick judges his former route to Constantinople lost, and severe fever forces him to seek concealed recovery before continuing the investigation.
    • Dick identifies a promising personal lead in Harry's clue, resumes his mission and secures transport east.
    • Dick preserves the investigation over an immediate opportunity for sabotage and identifies a new clue connected with his task.
    • Dick reaches Constantinople despite the arrest order, bringing the investigation to its intended destination.
    • Immediate survival and preserving his intelligence displace further investigation; the guards remove his freedom of movement, and he believes the undertaking is over.
    • The reunited investigators connect the movement to Germany and identify Hilda von Einem through Harry's clue, giving Dick a definite target and a reason to continue in Constantinople.
    • Dick learns Hilda's central importance and receives John's assessment linking her directly to Greenmantle.
    • Dick pursues local inquiries and directly encounters Hilda, gaining a clearer sense of the person directing the enterprise without discovering the revelation itself.
    • Dick learns the meaning of cancer, Sandy's access to the prophet, and the suspected military purpose of the movement.
    • Dick renews his determination to destroy the enterprise, but Stumm recognizes and imprisons him before he can pursue it.
    • The religious enterprise has been uncovered, its intended military purpose defeated, and Dick recognizes Sandy's appearance at the Russian advance as the ironic fulfilment of Greenmantle's promise.

  • Britain faces a suspected religious mobilization in the East that Walter believes could jeopardize victory; Dick must uncover its hidden cause.

    • The religious movement's German association is corroborated and its female ally identified; Blenkiron's concern strengthens the perceived seriousness of the threat.
    • The religious enterprise appears capable of surviving the prophet's death and is inferred to serve the defence of Erzerum.
    • The religious mobilization survives its prophet's death through an accepted replacement and Hilda's ambition to reclaim the East.
    • The Russian breakthrough defeats the immediate enterprise at Erzerum; its intended prophet appears at the head of the opposing advance.

  • A concealed revelation, known to certain people in Germany, may unite religious forces in the East. Dick receives only the clues Kasredin, cancer and v. I.; Harry Bullivant died after discovering information about it.

    • Dick infers that Harry deliberately left a coded posthumous clue. Sandy translates Kasredin as House of Faith after an initial false lead, but finds no specific referent; Cancer and V. I. remain unexplained.
    • Stumm's whispered word sounding like Ühnmantl and Gaudian's insistence on private discussion provide further indications of a guarded German asset in the Muslim world. The marked map offers another possible clue, without establishing its connection.
    • Dick decodes v. I. as von Einem and tentatively identifies Hilda with that name; the revelation itself remains unknown.
    • Grune Mantel becomes a recognizable name linked to the hidden scheme and von Einem, although its meaning remains unknown.
    • Sandy supplies knowledge of the movement's doctrines, western origin and Kasredin reference; Dick's evidence confirms Germany's central role, and v. I. is decoded as von Einem.
    • The concealed enterprise is further associated with Hilda, an unidentified old man and Greenmantle, although its mechanism remains unexplained.
    • Cancer is identified as the prophet's terminal illness; his expected replacement and possible deployment at Erzerum clarify the concealed enterprise.
    • The investigators learn that the original prophet is dead and that Hilda will continue the religious enterprise by revealing Sandy as his successor.

  • Walter promises unrestricted funds and freedom to choose helpers, routes and methods for Dick's mission, while providing no detailed instructions or protection if he is caught.

    • Walter undertakes to secure Sandy's release and provides Blenkiron's introduction and dossier. Dick exercises his freedom to choose helpers, routes and covers.
    • Official assistance supports the partners' cover preparations, and Dick exercises his freedom to recruit Peter; his government connection ceases for the journey.

  • Walter entrusts Dick with the dangerous investigation for which his own son Harry died, handing him Harry's surviving clues and revealing their personal provenance.

    • Dick reaffirms Walter's fairness, receives his exceptional endorsement of Blenkiron, and explicitly commits to discovering the secret for him.

  • Dick struggles with fear of capture and execution and with the apparent inadequacy of their plans. His partners restore his courage, but his doubts persist.

    • Fear of exposure recurs during departure and over possible sleep-talking; explicit execution threats and Stumm's violence make the danger immediate. Dick nevertheless retains hope that his restraint advances the mission.
    • Renewed confidence and access to Stumm sustain Dick, but maintaining his disguise exhausts him; he discovers he is far from his eastward route and must suppress his interest in a possible clue.
    • Isolation, confinement and the threatened failure of his mission deepen Dick's fear and despair; Stumm's assault then provokes renewed resistance and calm determination to survive.
    • Pursuit and illness intensify Dick's fear and despair. He repeatedly rallies himself, but eventually approaches indifference to escape and persists chiefly because he believes stopping would be fatal.
    • Peter's return restores Dick's hope, and recognition of the Grune Mantel clue strengthens his confidence in the mission.
    • Fear and declining confidence culminate in resignation to apparent capture, although Dick retains his determination to protect the mission's secrets.
    • The strain of disguise and the implications of their cover prompt Dick to consider escape, but the importance of their target restores his resolve.
    • Travelling with his companions restores Dick's courage; he relinquishes attempts to control events and renews his readiness to face danger.
    • Waiting renews Dick's anxiety; the failed escape and John's disabling wound bring him to believe the party is doomed.
    • Dick passes through acceptance of death and renewed reluctance to die before rescue and victory end the immediate danger.

  • Blenkiron joins Dick and Sandy as a willing mission partner; his courage and Walter's endorsement strengthen Dick's confidence and resolve.

    • Dick encounters Blenkiron in Stumm's company, maintains their apparent unfamiliarity, and receives his forgotten bag from him.
    • Dick recognizes Blenkiron travelling with a distinguished party and rejoices at finding his partner again; they have not yet communicated.
    • Blenkiron shelters and provisions the travellers, supplies Dick with a new identity, and participates in the exchange of intelligence.
    • John reveals his intelligence network and military expertise, and his account of the stakes renews Dick's spirits.
    • Dick and Peter repeatedly help John through the escape when strength and nerve fail him; John's subsequent honest amusement shows his recovery of spirits.

  • The three partners will travel separately towards Constantinople to widen the search. Sandy will choose an approach through Asia without going too far east.

    • Sandy departs for Cairo, Blenkiron leaves Britain and Dick begins his separate route through Lisbon.
    • Dick resumes his separate approach towards Constantinople aboard a convoy bound for Rustchuk, where its cargo transfers to rail.
    • The separate approaches culminate in the partners' reunion in Constantinople, with Sandy reporting his route and covers.

  • Blenkiron will cross Germany under his own name as an American, feign hostility to Britain and conversion to Germany's cause, gain German confidence with supposed secrets, then travel east.

    • Blenkiron's staged anti-British agitation creates a public record of hostility, reinforced by official expulsion and planned surveillance, before his departure.
    • Blenkiron has reached Germany and can converse with Stumm, who restrains his hostility and remains civil. His eventual journey east is not yet established.
    • Blenkiron's presence with the distinguished party at Belgrade shows progress eastward in influential company, though Dick has not learned how he secured that position.
    • Blenkiron reports travel among senior European political and military figures and intelligence about the German undertaking.
    • John reports obtaining the information he sought in Germany and now enjoys acceptance as an engineering collaborator with direct access to Hilda.
    • John's cultivated German connections leave Stumm uncertain about punishing him, but do not prevent his disarmament and removal under guard.

  • The partners will rendezvous at the Garden-house of Suliman the Red in Constantinople by January 17; early arrivals will wait, and anyone absent at the deadline will be given up.

    • The assigned sea route threatens Dick's timely arrival at the Constantinople rendezvous. He escapes Stumm but has not yet secured an alternative route.
    • The loss of Dick's route and his need for an indefinite period of concealed recovery further obstruct his journey to the rendezvous.
    • Passage to Rustchuk provides progress towards the Constantinople rendezvous, though arrival by the deadline remains unsecured.
    • Peter explicitly resolves to reach Constantinople in time, and both men reach Belgrade on their eastward journey.
    • Dick and Peter reach Constantinople, locate the approach to the garden-house and arrange access for the following day; no reunion is yet recorded.
    • Dick and Peter reach the garden-house venue and enter the Pavilion, but no rendezvous with their partners is established.
    • Dick, Sandy and Blenkiron have reunited in Constantinople, completing the rendezvous objective.

  • Dick will cross Germany posing as an anti-British Boer who speaks only Dutch, seeking deployment through Constantinople and access to Germany's secret scheme.

    • Dick acquires the Cornelis Brandt identity and documentary support, rehearses a rebel history with Peter and attracts German assistance through their public performance. The intermediary's passenger-list check tests the prepared cover.
    • Dick enters Germany under his Boer identity, passes Zorn's questioning and carries the impersonation into senior interviews, concealing his German comprehension and professing readiness to serve a German holy war. Travel east remains unsecured.
    • Dick explains away his response to a German order, maintains his claimed linguistic limitations, passes Gaudian's African examination, and secures acceptance and intended employment under his Boer identity.
    • Dick gains imperial acceptance as an anti-British South African, but his usefulness produces an assignment through London to Egypt rather than Constantinople. His fight with Stumm ends immediate cooperation.
    • Stumm is hunting Dick, who must disguise himself to evade him; Dick judges the former route through German assistance lost.

  • Dick establishes an apparent arrival from Portuguese Africa by landing from the Henry the Navigator and obtaining a false embarkation record under the name Cornelis Brandt.

  • Dick recruits Peter, an old companion who taught him veld-craft, as a trusted mission partner; Peter learns the mission and commits to supporting him.

    • Peter coordinates the entry into Germany with Dick, follows his guidance during examination, supports their cover under questioning and contributes a proposal that sustains their apparent usefulness.
    • Peter's imprisonment separates the partners. Their prior agreement permits Dick to put the mission first, but Dick discovers how much he depends on Peter's companionship.
    • The companions reunite, and Peter reveals that protecting Dick from a possible angry disclosure was his chief reason for escaping.
    • Dick and Peter jointly overcome an armed hold-up, and Dick again relies on Peter's direction and ability to find a way through darkness.
    • Peter saves Dick from Rasta's pistol and secures their attacker.
    • Peter helps bring John to safety, and Dick singles him out for a new task of exceptional importance.
    • Peter accepts the dangerous courier mission and departs with the intelligence, leaving Dick acutely conscious of their attachment.
    • Dick infers that Peter delivered the intelligence, then reunites with him among the rescuing cavalry.

  • Dick and Peter coordinate and rehearse complementary Afrikander rebel identities, including a shared invented combat history, to gain German assistance and travel east towards Constantinople.

    • Their rehearsed identities survive frontier processing and satisfy Zorn. Dick maintains the disguise through personal habits, renewed false testimony and professed support for German objectives; the senior officials' full acceptance remains unconfirmed.
    • Dick preserves the Afrikander cover through recognition by a British prisoner and scrutiny of his German comprehension. His identity is accepted, although separation from Peter complicates their coordinated performance.
    • Peter's misconduct and imprisonment disrupt their joint performance and provoke investigation of both identities. Dick's reminder and angry response partly sustain his own credibility, without removing the scrutiny.

  • A German intermediary accepts Dick and Peter as prospective allies against England and supplies passage and travelling money, while checking their claimed background against the African ship's passenger list.

    • The intermediary's assistance develops into an organized German reception: passports, an assigned escort, privileged treatment and access to senior officials in Berlin.

  • Stumm threatens Dick and Peter with brutal punishment if they fail him, then physically humiliates Dick. Dick must restrain his anger to preserve his cover and access.

    • Restricted movement, separation from Peter, Stumm's control and the danger of betraying German comprehension keep Dick dependent on maintaining a strenuous disguise.
    • Dick stops restraining his anger when Stumm tortures and threatens him. Their confrontation becomes a lethal fight, which Dick ends by incapacitating Stumm, locking him in the study and escaping; the immediate confrontation is settled.

  • Peter proposes taking Angola for Germany and fomenting an indigenous revolution; Dick professes willingness to help mobilize African peoples, using their apparent usefulness to gain German confidence.

    • Gaudian hears the African proposal and tests Dick's expertise. Dick expands his professed willingness to foment revolt among northern Muslim peoples, and the Germans decide to employ him.
    • Dick extends his professed African usefulness with a proposed attack through Uganda, winning imperial approval and a concrete assignment to German agents in Egypt.

  • Stumm considers Dick suitable for someone named Hilda. Dick overhears this while concealing his understanding of German, but Hilda's identity and intended use for him remain unknown.

    • Dick infers that Hilda is probably von Einem and connected to Harry's clue, making her a route to the central secret without establishing her identity or intentions.
    • Hilda is identified as Hilda von Einem, Greenmantle's female ally, and the owner of their refuge; Stumm's intended use for Dick remains unexplained.
    • Dick learns that he must report to Hilda and that she directs the enterprise, clarifying her authority without revealing her intended use for him.

  • Dolly Riddell recognizes Dick and learns that he is on a secret mission; he agrees to protect Dick's disguise by treating him as an irritating Dutch stranger.

  • Dick's hatred of Stumm becomes mixed with fascination and reluctant admiration for his sincere patriotism.

    • Stumm's avowed ruthlessness and personal cruelty intensify Dick's fear and hostility. Fighting exposes Stumm's vulnerability, and victory dissipates Dick's immediate anger and ill-will.
    • Dick relinquishes personal ill-will towards Stumm as Stumm confronts the rout and is overwhelmed by his own retreating troops.

  • Gaudian accepts Dick as Brandt after testing his African knowledge and offers friendship and reciprocal trust on the strength of their supposed common enemies.

    • Gaudian's friendliness makes Dick feel guilty about deceiving him, deepening the personal cost of their apparent friendship.

  • Stumm and Gaudian decide to employ Dick; Stumm will take him home the next day to receive orders, and Dick signals compliance.

    • Stumm takes Dick to his castle and supplies the promised orders, credentials and travel cover. The plan to bring him home for instructions is fulfilled.

  • Stumm assigns Dick to serve German agents in Egypt under Riza, travelling through Holland and London as Van der Linden, a Java planter, with identification, an addressed envelope and a cover dossier.

    • Dick leaves Stumm's house and deceives his pursuing employer; the assigned journey under German direction is no longer an available immediate course.

  • Dick learns that German agents operate in Egypt and that they have warned English police to watch for Brandt using a description unlike his own, supporting his passage under another identity.

  • After incapacitating Stumm and escaping the locked study, Dick resumes independent travel, abandoning immediate compliance with Stumm's assignment.

    • Dick escapes the house, takes the post car, misdirects Stumm, abandons the car and postman's disguise, equips himself for travel and crosses the guarded road. He reaches concealed shelter, although pursuit and fever prevent secure onward travel.
    • Dick continues independently and repurposes Stumm's pass to gain credibility before securing passage through engineering service.
    • Dick withholds the telegram ordering his arrest and successfully continues his independent journey to Constantinople.

  • Stumm pursues Dick after the assault. Dick misdirects him while impersonating the postman, but the pursuit resumes and a guarded road obstructs Dick's escape.

    • Dick leaves the landing just as searchers close the surrounding roads and fields, escaping the immediate cordon while Stumm's pursuit remains active.
    • The pursuit now includes an explicit order from Regensburg to arrest Brandt and return him by boat. Dick and Peter race ahead of its circulation.
    • Stumm's pursuit culminates in recognizing and capturing Dick; Rasta's telegram has exposed his survival, and Stumm threatens personal revenge.
    • Stumm discovers the theft and pursues the fugitives across the roofs. Sandy diverts the pursuers, allowing the others to leave in a wagon, but Stumm's wider pursuit remains unsettled.
    • The retreat prevents Stumm from firing, overwhelms him and allows the cavalry to deliver Dick from immediate enemy danger.

  • Recurrent fever, without quinine, progressively destroys Dick's strength, judgement and sense of direction, threatening his survival and escape.

    • The fever ends and Dick recovers enough strength to leave shelter and resume travel, although he remains weakened.

  • Dick will reach the Danube by travelling south through woodland, avoiding roads and questions.

    • Dick reaches the Danube and boards a tug after approaching through the woodland and fields.

  • Dick seeks shelter and rest so that he can survive the fever and recover.

    • Shelter and care restore Dick sufficiently for him to leave the cottage.

  • The cottage woman accepts the sick stranger into her care and promises secrecy; Dick entrusts himself to her and contributes provisions and money for the children.

    • The woman's care deepens Dick's sympathy for the family; he reciprocates with toys and emergency money and leaves partly to spare her danger.

  • Dick will recover in the cottage garret while the household conceals his presence and denies that he is there.

    • Dick completes his recovery in hiding and leaves to continue the mission and protect his hostess.

  • Dick resolves to pursue the guilty while sparing innocent Germans, abandoning indiscriminate reprisals after experiencing the cottage family's kindness.

    • Dick extends restraint to an enemy, arranging safe detention rather than allowing Rasta's suspected murder.

  • Dick will use the protected German munitions convoy to travel towards Turkey, earning passage to Rustchuk by serving as the tug's engineer.

    • The convoy carries Dick across the Austrian frontier, through Vienna and onward to Belgrade, then resumes its journey; Rustchuk has not yet been reached.
    • The convoy carries Dick and Peter to Rustchuk and then onward into Turkey; after completing delivery, they reach Constantinople.

  • The tug captain accepts Dick's apparent official credentials and engages him as engineer in exchange for passage, dispensing with passenger authorization.

    • Schenk confides in Dick, relies on his help managing the crew, accepts Peter on his recommendation, and entrusts him with inspecting the cargoes.
    • When Schenk falls ill, Dick stays to manage trans-shipment and receives custody of the papers. Schenk consents to the men's departure, and Dick leaves him a note.

  • Dick obtains a convoy berth for Peter as Anton Blum, supposedly his former employee, and instructs him to remain silent and maintain a half-wit cover.

  • The convoy's weapons tempt Dick and Peter to sabotage it, but Dick prioritizes their investigation and rejects both destroying the cargo and disabling its machine guns.

    • Dick commits to delivering the cargo intact and succeeds, although he credibly threatens to ignite the explosives if Rasta summons troops to force surrender.

  • German authorities imprison Peter and use planted prisoners to expose secrets or disloyalty involving Dick; Peter recognizes the trap and escapes without betraying him.

  • Peter deceives the prison spies with an announced escape time, leaves early, and reaches freedom by dropping into the river.

  • Dick identifies Stumm's previously indistinct words as Grune Mantel and connects the name with his mission and von Einem, without yet knowing what it denotes.

    • Dick shares his independent knowledge of Greenmantle, corroborating Sandy's findings and connecting the German secret with Hilda von Einem.

  • Dick discovers that Rasta and his associates are falsifying cargo inventories, apparently to charge Turkey again for omitted munitions.

  • Dick's refusal to accept Rasta's falsified inventories creates a dangerous enemy who threatens retaliation and tries to seize the shipment. Dick repels the immediate attempt, but Rasta promises further punishment.

    • Rasta is present at the confrontation before withdrawing into the background, and Dick continues to regard him as a dangerous enemy. These events do not establish that he directed the attack.
    • Rasta recognizes both fugitives and attempts their capture; Peter overpowers him, and Sandy's followers remove him into custody, containing the immediate threat.
    • Rasta recognizes Dick during the escape. Peter attempts to shoot him, but no successful hit is established, and his access to a telegraph threatens renewed retaliation.
    • Rasta retaliates by identifying the travellers as car thieves and alleged spies, obstructing their journey and alerting Stumm that the Dutchmen survived.

  • Dick earns the Bulgarian commandant's support and Oesterzee's approval by resisting fraud and delivering the verified shipment; Oesterzee supplies transport to Constantinople.

  • Dick undertakes to deliver the munitions personally to Oesterzee at Chataldja despite Rasta's interference, securing reliable guards and official notice of the shipment.

  • Dick and Peter are followed after entering Constantinople. Dick suspects Rasta, but the pursuers' identity and purpose remain unknown, and they draw closer.

    • The street pursuit develops into an assault intended, Dick infers, to capture them alive. He later learns they were attacked as Germans and spies. Rescue and escape end the immediate assault without establishing the full identity or purpose of the earlier pursuers.
    • Sandy's intervention protects Dick from Rasta, while the reported official arrest and German handover establish that the danger extends beyond street pursuit.

  • Dick and Peter will attend the Pavilion's entertainment at four o'clock the next day, using Kuprasso's entry instructions to gain access to the garden-house.

    • Dick and Peter carry out the planned visit, follow the route through Kuprasso's premises, and gain admission to the Pavilion entertainment.

  • The skin-clad band rescues Dick and Peter, but Dick's offer of payment insults its leader and turns the rescuers against them.

    • The apparent hostility is explained by Sandy's rescue arrangement; the band was securing the travellers' escape from capture.

  • Dick must find sanctuary and reach Blenkiron before evening so that his intelligence survives if he is captured.

    • Dick reaches sanctuary with Blenkiron and communicates his discoveries to the reunited partners.

  • Dick intends to exchange intelligence with Blenkiron, return through Rumania and Russia, and rejoin his battalion in February.

    • The intelligence exchange occurs, but Dick's decision to remain in Constantinople displaces the intended immediate return through Rumania and Russia.
    • The mission remains unfinished, Sandy commits to further infiltration, and Hilda redirects Dick and John into another journey.
    • Dick still seeks an opportunity to rejoin his own side, but capture prevents departure.

  • Enver's bodyguards take Dick and Peter away from the Pavilion. Dick believes their mission has failed and expects interrogation, but the friendly greeting at their destination leaves the escort's purpose uncertain.

    • The escort and apparent arrest prove to be Sandy's arranged rescue, delivering Dick and Peter to Blenkiron rather than interrogation.

  • Expecting interrogation, Dick resolves to reveal nothing even under torture.

    • The anticipated interrogation does not occur because the arrest was a rescue, removing the immediate occasion for the silence-under-torture plan.

  • The feared skin-cap dancer knows Dick's real name and greets him affectionately as a returning friend; his identity and the reason for this familiarity remain unexplained.

    • The familiar rescuer is revealed as Sandy, explaining his knowledge of Dick and affectionate greeting.

  • Make Brandt and his companion appear to have drowned, planting their discarded clothes as evidence to defeat the planned arrest and handover.

    • The drowning deception produced a police report that the Dutchmen were dead, but Rasta's telegram defeats it by establishing their survival.

  • Dick will adopt the cover of American mining engineer Richard Hanau, supported by an invented arrival history and supplied clothes.

    • Clothing, an account supplied to the authorities and corroborating American reports support the Hanau identity, which Dick uses before Enver.
    • Hilda already knows Dick as Richard Hanau. Dick believes her scrutiny concerns his qualities rather than verification of his assumed identity.
    • Rasta penetrates Dick's Hanau disguise despite an initially effective bluff, but Hilda accepts his performed ideological sympathy and continues to employ him.
    • Dick receives the party's passports and secures official visas, supporting his continued travel under the adopted identity.
    • The passports and claimed service to Hilda secure passage from Posselt, but Stumm recognizes Dick despite his altered appearance, making the Hanau cover ineffective against him.

  • Dick will remain in Constantinople to intercept the religious movement coming from the West.

    • Despite considering escape, Dick gains renewed reason to continue investigating in Constantinople, where Hilda is accessible and central to the operation.
    • Remaining in Constantinople brings renewed contact with Sandy, direct access to Hilda and a promised midnight contact.
    • Investigation in Constantinople yields access to the prophet's household and a new lead towards Erzerum, shifting the pursuit beyond the city.

  • Sandy will use his network to locate Hilda von Einem, now identified as a definite target of the investigation.

    • Locating Hilda is no longer an outstanding objective: John has already met her and receives and answers a further summons.

  • The house sheltering the investigators belongs to Hilda von Einem, whom Blenkiron has recently met; her involvement causes him grave concern.

    • John identifies their hostess as the enterprise's real leader, withholds details and returns from another visit with a more alarming assessment.
    • Dick meets Hilda personally in her house and recognizes a scent connecting her to his earlier experience at Kuprasso's garden-house.

  • John operates a cipher network linking intelligence in Constantinople, Sandy's organization and contacts abroad; Dick learns that the apparently casual exchanges on their walk were covert work.

  • John uses a hydraulic-engineering project in Mesopotamia to secure German and Turkish confidence and gain access as an active collaborator, bringing Dick into the project as Hanau.

    • Hilda destroys the travel documents and cancels the Mesopotamia journey on which the engineering project depended.

  • Their engineering cover commits John and Dick to proceeding towards Mesopotamia and may require them to act against their own side; Dick considers escape, while John insists on continuing the investigation.

    • Hilda cancels the specific obligation to proceed to Mesopotamia, replacing it with a different assignment.

  • John identifies Hilda as the real leader of the enemy enterprise and says Germany's remaining chance rests on her and an unidentified old man; he withholds further information from Dick.

    • Dick's encounter leads him independently to regard Hilda as the mission's dominant adversary; the unidentified old man's role remains unexplained.
    • Sandy reveals Hilda's control of the prophet's household and expects her to continue the enterprise after the dying prophet is replaced.
    • Hilda controls the prophet's burial and replacement; Sandy attributes the murder of the ministers who refused the succession to her.

  • Gaudian's presence at Moellendorff's dinner exposes Dick's new identity to someone who previously knew him as Brandt, alarming Dick.

  • Enver takes an interest in Dick under the name Hanau, records his assumed name and offers him protection.

  • After another audience with Hilda, John judges her mad and chiefly evil and believes Greenmantle will suffer under her; he shares this assessment with Dick.

    • Dick's own hostility and sense of Hilda's power deepen his understanding of John's warning, although the encounter does not independently establish her madness.
    • The ministers' murder and Sandy's distress provide further evidence of the coercion and destruction within Hilda's enterprise.

  • Dick proposes cultivating Hilda for information. John refuses to participate, but Dick gains a direct audience and tries to arouse her interest.

    • Dick's cultivation succeeds in gaining Hilda's approval and an invitation into her undertaking, though it also subjects him to her direction.
    • Dick learns Hilda is ahead of them and intends to find her, but imprisonment prevents renewed contact.

  • Music near the villa and Hilda's scent suggest connections with Kuprasso's garden-house, but Dick has not established their significance.

  • Sandy is operating near Hilda under a cover that requires him to appear Turkish-speaking and unacquainted with Dick; his exact role remains unknown.

    • Sandy explains his infiltration: his performers gained entry, his religious learning won the household's confidence, and both Hilda and the prophet favour him.

  • Dick's first direct encounter with Hilda produces fascination and instinctive hatred. He meets her scrutiny defiantly and interprets it as an unsuccessful attempt to dominate his will.

    • Dick deceives Hilda about his beliefs but comes truly to fear her as she scrutinizes him and takes control of his journey.
    • Dick acknowledges Hilda's beauty and attraction, delights in provoking her particular hatred, and feels ashamed to witness her intimate appeal to Sandy.

  • A guide conveys the Master's message that Dick should expect him at midnight.

    • Sandy arrives and delivers the intelligence obtained through his concealed role.

  • Hilda redirects Dick and John from Mesopotamia to accompany her towards the great hills, promising replacement passports; Sandy infers that their destination is Erzerum.

    • The party travels through Angora towards Erzerum with passports and visas. Despite losing its first car, it obtains another and escapes with everyone aboard.
    • The party reaches Erzerum under escort, fulfilling the journey to the destination Sandy inferred; Hilda has already passed through Erzingjan ahead of them.

  • Dick resolves to protect the captive Rasta from Hilda, whom he suspects intends to murder him.

  • Sandy's followers will hide Rasta safely without exposing Sandy's involvement; Dick promises him comfortable detention for a day or two.

  • Greenmantle is dying of cancer, explaining Harry's clue; Sandy expects Hilda to replace him and continue the enterprise.

    • Greenmantle has died and been secretly buried; Hilda has chosen Sandy to replace him.

  • Sandy commits to remain inside Hilda's enterprise and seek an opportunity to wreck it, preparing to meet his companions in the hills.

    • Sandy is now travelling with his companions towards the eastern enterprise and insists on continuing even when he must walk.
    • Sandy's installation as successor places him at the centre of the enterprise but overwhelms him; Dick's intervention restores his capacity to act, and he undertakes escape preparations.
    • Sandy leaves Hilda's enterprise, openly declares his hostile mission, rejects her partnership and vows to destroy the sacred garment; her death ends his opportunity to sabotage her from within.

  • The Russian advance threatens Erzerum; Enver seeks reinforcements, and Sandy infers that Hilda intends to use the prophet to rally its defence.

    • Wounded returning troops undermine claims of Turkish victory, and urgent military traffic suggests intensifying activity near Erzerum. John and Dick resolve to reach the impending climax faster.
    • Dick concludes that Turkish resistance depends on Greenmantle's intervention, while audible bombardment confirms the immediate military threat around Erzerum.
    • Captured German documents reveal a concealed weakness that could enable the Russians to take Erzerum before reinforcement; Dick identifies the nearest Russian front and wants to supply the intelligence.
    • Hilda's preparations continue amid Russian bombardment, and a Russian shell kills her near the defenders' position.
    • The northern flank is apparently turned, the southern defences fall and Russian cavalry advance to the city while the defenders scatter.

  • Hilda's involvement leaves John unusually discomposed because he cannot place her as an antagonist, despite denying that he loves her.

  • The party's urgent journey east is obstructed by a wrecked car and scarce, inadequate horses; taking another car restores speed but exposes them to gunfire and recognition.

    • The stolen car brings the anticipated official obstruction, but valid passports and Dick's appeal to Hilda's authority obtain permission to continue, and the travellers reach Erzerum.

  • After the wreck, the party seeks shelter and replacement transport, obtains three horses, and resumes the journey with Sandy on foot.

    • The poor horses are superseded by the appropriated car, which carries the party to Erzerum.

  • Dick proposes taking the caravanserai's motor-car; Peter scouts while the others arrange to board beyond the building.

    • The party successfully appropriates the caravanserai's car and uses it for the onward journey; Dick admits and justifies taking it to Posselt.

  • John uses armed defiance and uncertainty about the consequences of punishing him to resist Stumm, but is disarmed and taken away with his companions.

    • Sandy releases the disarmed captives, and their assisted rooftop escape ends their immediate confinement by Stumm.

  • Stumm intends to take Dick, Peter and John to his home and exact severe personal revenge.

    • The prisoners escape Stumm's custody and evade his immediate pursuit, preventing him from carrying out his intended personal revenge.
    • Hussin's rescue has removed Dick and John from Stumm's immediate power.
    • Stumm reappears beside the guns to witness his enemies' destruction; bombardment and riflemen now enforce his revenge without taking them home.
    • Stumm loses control of his battery and is overrun; his intended victims escape with the Russians. His death is not established.

  • Dick steals Stumm's confidential map and notes, revealing unfortified peaks through which the Russians could overcome Erzerum's northern defences before reinforcements arrive.

    • Peter and Sandy learn the stolen map's significance, including the vulnerable approach to Kara Gubek.
    • Russian officers and generals examine Stumm's map and Dick's accompanying paper and recognize their military value.
    • The northern gunfire and ensuing breakthrough lead Dick to conclude that Peter delivered the stolen intelligence and the Russians exploited the exposed flank.

  • The fugitives are to remain quietly in the Master's cellar until he comes, relying on Hussin's assurance of safety despite Hilda's presence at the house.

    • Sandy reaches the refuge and Hussin retains control of access; the companions continue sheltering there while awaiting their planned escape.
    • The appointed departure replaces concealment in the cellar, and the party leaves the house.

  • Dick seeks to convey the captured defence intelligence to the Russians, but lacks a means of communication.

    • Dick secures a courier and sends Peter towards the Russians with the captured plan and paper; delivery remains unconfirmed.
    • Peter reaches the Russian lines and delivers the captured defence intelligence and Dick's paper to the senior general, who explains their value to his colleagues.

  • Dick begins preparing a mission dependent on Peter to get the intelligence to the Russians; he locates their refuge south of Erzerum and identifies the nearest Russian front in the Palantuken foothills.

    • Peter accepts the mission, studies the route and terrain, receives the intelligence and supplies, and departs; Dick rejects Sandy's offer to replace him.
    • Peter carries out the courier mission, crossing the Turkish positions and delivering both Stumm's map and Dick's accompanying paper to Russian headquarters.

  • Dick takes command to save Sandy, prevent his appearance as prophet, defeat Hilda's scheme and bring the party to the Russians.

    • Dick's intelligence reaches Russian command and prompts immediate staff movement, advancing his effort to bring about an enemy defeat. Sandy's rescue and the party's escape remain unfulfilled.
    • Dick commands the party and Sandy rejects Hilda's scheme, whose leader dies, but encirclement and John's wound prevent bringing everyone to the Russians.
    • Dick, John and Sandy reach rescue, Hilda's scheme fails, and Sandy's appearance as Greenmantle serves the Russian advance rather than her enterprise.

  • Hilda installs Sandy as Greenmantle's successor and intends to reveal him in three days; the six Companions accept him.

    • Sandy escapes, reveals his British mission and refuses the prophetic role; Hilda renounces him and dies before carrying out her planned revelation.
    • Sandy appears in emerald at the front of the Russian charge, reversing the allegiance and military purpose of Hilda's intended revelation.

  • Sandy's brief enthusiasm for Hilda's vision leaves him overwhelmed by guilt; he declares he would rather kill himself than appear as her prophet.

    • Sandy settles his divided allegiance through action: he chooses resistance, his friends and his country over Hilda's vision, despite renewed offers.

  • Dick, John, Sandy and the Companions will escape on horseback around the western flank to Russian troops on the third night; Sandy will arrange horses through Hussin.

    • Horses and departure are secured, but flooding, guarded crossings, a landslip and pursuit defeat the planned route; the party ends trapped in the redoubt.
    • The surviving party reaches Russian protection through battlefield rescue rather than the planned mounted escape; Peter is entrusted with John and Sandy's men.

  • John responds emotionally to Peter's farewell and commits to providing him a comfortable position if they survive.

  • Peter gains a Turkish ally serving the Russians: invoking the Companions of the Rosy Hours establishes trust, and the signaller arranges his reception by the Russians and helps him through the Turkish wire.

  • Peter renews an old hunting acquaintance with the senior Russian general, who receives his intelligence and responds with affection and exceptional praise.

  • The escape party is pursued by cavalry, trapped by flooded water and a broken hill path, and forced into a redoubt where artillery and rearward riflemen prevent escape; John's wound further limits their movement.

    • The bombardment kills and wounds defenders and breaks Dick's arm, but the riflemen withdraw, the party leaves the redoubt and the Cossacks rescue the survivors.

  • The party will defend the rock-crowned hill under Dick's command, using assigned firing positions and improvised breastworks against further attacks.

    • The defenders use improvised shelter, return to their firing positions and allocate the cave by lot before abandoning the untenable redoubt and regrouping.

  • Hilda's apparent personal attachment to Sandy ends in his explicit rejection and her murderous renunciation; after her death, he acknowledges her affection and carries her back for burial.

  • Dick and Sandy seek to survive the bombardment and shoot Stumm if an opportunity arises; Sandy promises to shoot him if left the last survivor.

  • Dick plans to seize the gun horses and join the Cossacks, but retreating troops take the horses first.

  • Sandy commits to joining the cavalry's advance into Erzerum and entrusts Blenkiron and his men to Peter; Dick accompanies Sandy on a supplied mount.

Places

Furling, Hampshire, Loos, London, England, East Africa, Salonika, Egypt, Turkey, Constantinople, Germany, Whitehall, Vienna, India, Persia, Russia, Damaraland, German South West Africa, Europe, Bosporus, Thrace, Mesopotamia, Bakhtiari hills, Mosul, Kut, Yemen, Savoy Grill Room, Park Lane, Caucasus, Cairo, Aleppo, Asia Minor, Kurdish Bazaar, Angola, Africa, Uganda, British Museum, Newcastle, Lisbon, Liverpool, Kalahari, Portugal, Rhodesia, Tagus, Mossamedes, Delagoa Bay, Transvaal, Bulawayo, South Africa, Holland, Rotterdam, Berlin, Bavaria, Danube, Schwandorf, Blue Nile, Andersbach, Rustchuk, Buda, The Austrian frontier, Gallipoli Peninsula, Belgrade, Chataldja, Absthafen, Regensburg, Bulgaria, Mustafa Pasha, Stamboul, Rumania, Ratchik ferry, Constanza, Black Sea, Nish, Erzerum, Angora, Wakkerstroom country, Siwas, Euphrates, Erzingjan, Michigan, Deve Boyun, Lake Van, Mush, Kara Gubek, Olti, Tafta, The Euphrates glen, Jerusalem, Bergen, Marta bridge, The Russian lines, Vermelles, Fort Palantuken