Chapter 4 Summary

As Hannay speeds along the moor roads in the stolen plainclothes officer's car, he thinks about what he discovered in Scudder's black book. Much of what Scudder told him was a lie. The conspiracy was bigger than he stated. The coming war would involve many more nations, and would also involve the break of relations between the Germans and the Brits, with the Germans establishing a naval blockade around the United Kingdom. There is also mention many times of "The Thirty-Nine Steps" (which Hannay cannot make sense of) and an evil underground organization called the Black Stone. It is the Black Stone and not "Jew anarchists" behind these schemes. The Black Stone also planned to intercept important military intelligence on the state of the British naval fleet.

Hannay considers writing the Prime Minister, but figures he would not believe him. He continues riding...