The Return Match

"The Return Match"
Author	E. W. Hornung
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Publisher	Cassell & Co
Media type	Print (Magazine)
Publication date	October 1898
Preceded by	"Nine Points of the Law"
Followed by	"The Gift of the Emperor"

“The Return Match” is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in October of 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the seventh story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.

Plot Summary

Raffles runs into Bunny in Piccadilly Circus, and brings him to his Albany rooms. Raffles reminds Bunny of the events of the Lady Melrose necklace burglary; the famous thief whom they saw at the inn during that episode, named Crawshay, was imprisoned at Dartmoor but escaped yesterday. From the newspapers and bulletins at his club, Raffles gathers that Crawshay disguised himself with a curate’s clothes, and later a parson’s clothes. Raffles suspects that Crawshay is coming after him, to seek revenge for Raffles taking Lady Melrose’s necklace; Crawshay had, in fact, written a threatening letter to Raffles before the trail which convicted him.

Raffles tells Bunny that he will leave by train to go hide out in his sister’s husband’s parish, somewhere east of London. Suddenly, however, Crawshay appears at the threshold between bedroom and sitting room, dressed in gentleman’s clothes too small for him.

“‘We must take on this job; we aren’t in a position to refuse it; even if we were, I should take it on! Our friend is a great sportsman; he has got clear away from Dartmoor; it would be a thousand pities to let him go back.’"

Raffles, to Bunny

After the initial shock, Raffles is calm, while Bunny assumes it is another trick on the part of Raffles. Crawshay smoothly tells Raffles that Raffles must find a way to remove Crawshay from the country. Raffles acknowledges to Bunny that Crawshay is blackmailing them, but regardless is genuinely excited to help the daring prison escapee get away. Crawshay informs them that he entered Raffles’s rooms through the window, and no one has traced him. Although he is reluctant to allow both Raffles and Bunny to leave the his sight, Raffles persuades him otherwise. Raffles and Bunny leave, as Crawshay falls asleep in his chair.

In the courtyard, they pass by Inspector Mackenzie, of Scotland Yard, whom they met during the affair of Lady Melrose’s necklace, at Milchester Abbey. Despite Bunny’s reservations, Raffles greets the inspector. They briefly discuss the events at Milchester and the escape of Crawshay. The inspector continues into the Albany, and Raffles and Bunny express curiosity and follow.

Upon questioning by Raffles, a porter explains what he knows. A gentleman had come to view a set of rooms, but had disappeared while in them. Later, the manager read something in the newspaper, and sent a note to Scotland Yard. The police are currently examining the set of rooms that was viewed.

With the air of a Scotland Yard official, Raffles leads Bunny into the set of rooms, and inside they discover several officers looking a the window, Mackenzie among them. Mackenzie questions Raffles’s reasons for entering; Raffles replies that he would like to assist the police. Mackenzie accepts, and reveals that they are searching for a wanted man, and may have to search every room in the Albany for him. Raffles gladly offers to leave his key with the officer downstairs, amazing Bunny. Raffles departs, ostensibly to dinner, while entrusting Bunny to remain with Mackenzie. Bunny wonders what Raffles is planning. Bunny observes Raffles’s departure through the window.

Bunny follows Mackenzie to inspect the window in the attic rooms of the Albany, which are empty. While in the attic, someone below shouts that a rope has been found, hanging over Raffles’s window. Bunny is terrified. Mackenzie immediately retrieves Raffles’s key, and enters his rooms.

Inside, they find Raffles, lying on the floor on his back and wounded by a poker in the forehead. Bunny is tearful, and confused that Raffles has not departed after all; the Raffles who departed was actually Crawshay in disguise. Mackenzie berates the constable who accepted the key from the imposter.

Later, Raffles reveals to Bunny that he intentionally struck and chloroformed himself. The day has been a success; they have won some credit with Mackenzie, and are even with Crawshay.

Adaptions

BBC Radio adapted part of the story into the second half of the fifth episode of its Raffles radio drama, "Wilful Murder or the Return Match," which first aired on November 17, 1985. The drama features Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny. The first part of the episode is based off of the events of “Wilful Murder”, which then leads into the plot of “The Return Match.” The episode follows much of the original plot, with some differences:

• Whereas Crawshay is wanted for escaping prison in the original story, he is wanted for murder in the drama.
• In the drama, Bunny encounters Inspector Mackenzie outside the Albany alone, investigating the murder of Baird. As opposed to Mackenzie’s relative indifference to Raffles in the original story, the drama shows Mackenzie specifically interested in protecting Raffles from the threat of Crawshay’s revenge, albeit with less haste than Bunny would appreciate.
• In the drama, Crawshay is already present in Raffles’s flat when Bunny arrives at the Albany.
• In the drama, Raffles charges Bunny with the job of distracting Mackenzie with conversation, to give Crawshay time to get away. Bunny has no such role in the original story.
• In the original story, Mackenzie deduces from the evidence of the rope to check Raffles’s flat. In the drama, he instead remembers a suspicious smell of tobacco, not the smoke of Raffles’s trademark Sullivan cigarettes, in Raffles’s flat.
• In the drama only, Raffles helps Crawshay take refuge in Bunny’s own rooms.

External links

• The Amateur Cracksman at Project Gutenberg
• Free online annotated version of “The Return Match”
• BBC Radio adaption of "Wilful Murder or The Return Match"