Chapter 20 Summary

Born in Bavaria, Stein had, at the age of twenty-two taken an active part in the revolutionary movement of 1848, where after he escaped and found refuge with a watchmaker in Trieste. After that, he came upon a famous Dutch traveler, but after four years of traveling together, he returned home. Stein, however, remained behind in Celebes and there he struck up a friendship with an old Scottish trader who held a privileged position in the country at the time and upon his death, this was passed to Stein.

During the years his love of entomology saw him acquire an impressive collection of beetles and butterflies and it is in his study, late one evening, among glass cases housing innumerable such specimens, that Stein sees Marlow. Before listening to Marlow however, Stein relates the tale of how he came to acquire his most prized...