The Pale Horse

The second chapter shifts to the local Catholic priory, where a young boy arrives asking for the priest, Fr. Gorman. The boy says a woman, Mrs. Davis, is dying and has asked for a priest to come immediately. The priest arrives in time to give last rites and hear her confession, but leaves in a stupor, astounded by what he just heard. Walking into a café, he asks for a piece of paper, upon which he writes a list of names. He leaves the café and steps out into a particularly foggy night. Walking down the street, he is overtaken by a man who followed him from the café and is struck down in the street.

The next morning, Detective-Inspector Lejeune goes over the details of the murder of Fr. Gorman, determining that it must have been a robbery gone. Upon searching the body, the only thing of note is a crumpled piece of paper with a scrawled list of names. Discovering that the priest was a well-liked figure, Lejeune determines to contact a name from the list that he finds in a phone directory. Discovering that the person is dead, the detective and his colleagues discuss their next moves.

Detective Lejeune attempts to ascertain the character of the deceased Mrs. Davis by speaking with her landlord, but he is unable to discover any meaningful information except that the woman’s dying words were “something about wickedness” (34). The local pharmacist, Mr. Osborne, offers a greater contribution, however, as Lejeune discovers that Osborne saw the priest walk by his shop followed by a man of distinct physical features. Osborne describes him in detail, and Lejeune is heartened by this break in the case. Osborne assures the detective that he will keep his eyes peeled for the man should he appear again.

This chapter returns to Mark Easterbrook, now in the company of his closest friend Hermia Redcliffe. Having seen a production of Macbeth, they venture to the Fantasie, a popular eatery. Arriving at the restaurant, they bump into Mark’s friend David and his date Poppy. Discussing the play they had just seen, the group talks about witches, and David says he believes a witch still inhabits every little town in rural England.

While the group argues about the existence of witches, David says that in prior times (when witches were more common) it must have been convenient to get a witch to do something wicked for you. Hermia counters that organized criminals will do the same for you today in places like Chicago, while Poppy chimes in that wicked things of that kind are still done at a place like the Pale Horse.

The following day Mrs. Oliver calls Mark to tell him that she will, after all, be able to attend the church festival but that she doesn’t want to be taken to a local pub like the Pale Horse since she doesn’t like beer. Later that day, Mark runs into a college acquaintance named Jim Corrigan and discovers that one of the women on the list of names retrieved from Fr. Gorman had been Corrigan’s godmother. Mark then calls his friend David to get information about his date Poppy who had mentioned the Pale Horse. He discovers that her real name is Pamela Stirling and that she works at a florist shop. Determined to speak with her, Mark ventures to the florist and raises the topic of the Pale Horse. Poppy becomes frightened and refuses to speak.

Mrs. Oliver feels relieved that the festival is over. In conversation with Mark and others, the discussion returns to the Pale Horse. Rhoda mentions that the Pale Horse was an old inn that is now used as a residence by three women, Thyrza Grey, Sybil Stanfordis, and Bella their cook. Miss Grey, as Rhoda’s husband Colonel Despard notes, is something of a spiritualist, describing her as “very occult” (62). He also notes that Sybil is a medium and Bella a witch, but that the old inn is a curiosity well worth visiting.

The next day, after attending church services, the group goes to lunch with Mr. Venables, a wealthy man confined to a wheelchair due to a previous struggle with polio. In a conversation over lunch, Venables discusses his belief in evil, bemoaning the “modern playing down of evil as something that doesn’t really exist” (69). Mrs. Oliver agrees with him but adds that, in her experience, encountering an evil person is almost inevitably a letdown because of its ordinariness. The fifth chapter ends with the group heading to the old inn.