Browsed through Eddie Duggan's Falcon site recently--nice
work there--and
noticed a disagreement with something Peter Wolfe said in
Beams Falling:
The Art of Dashiell Hammett, which reminded me that I too
always find Wolfe
interesting. Looked him up on Falcon and was a bit surprised
to see that,
according to him, Spade knows that Brigid murdered Miles
Archer by Chapter
6! He delays doing anything about it because he loves her,
and wants to
give her a chance to commit to him. In other words, when he
says "You're
good. You're very good," he knows fully what she is. The
Flitcraft story,
then, is to warn her that he is a professional, and will
carry through, but
even more a reminder to himself of what he should do. So says
Wolfe.
He knows by Chapter 6? There's the undrawn revolver, but
given what seems
to be a rather breezy confidence in Miles, one doesn't
imagine it would
take that much to plug him with his gun down... Appreciate
others'
thoughts; am willing to admit that perhaps I don't read
carefully enough.
Bill Hagen
<billha@ionet.net>
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