Act 1, Scene 2, Part 2 Summary

When he sees the Constable coming in, the Maniac pulls Sports Jacket and the super-intendent back from the window, joking about how desperation can make people do strange things. This can be interpreted as a deliberate jab at Sports Jacket and the superintendent driving the Anarchist to jump out a window. Sports Jacket and the superintendent complain that they were driven to do what they were about to do by the government's lack of faith in them, and its apparent determination to scapegoat them for the Anarchist's death (see "Quotes," p. 155). At that point the Maniac says it was all a joke, saying he employed "the tricks of the trade" to show them that their methods were uncivilized. This leads Sports Jacket and the superintendent to remind the Maniac (who is still, at this point, pretending to be a...