Evans Tries an O-level

Evans ('Evans the Break') is a prisoner in HM Prison Oxford, England. He is a clever, charming, and serial prison-breaker who has escaped from prison three times. Despite his criminal record, he is considered harmless (no violence), likeable, and surprisingly intelligent. The prison governor regards him with a mixture of exasperation and reluctant fondness. The arrangement for the examination: • Evans has requested to sit an O-level German examination — he claims he wants to improve himself through education. The prison authorities are happy to support this. • The examination is to be held in Evans's cell, not in a regular examination hall. Security precautions taken: 1. The cell is thoroughly searched before the exam. 2. Evans's razor and other potentially dangerous implements are removed. 3. A German teacher, the Reverend Stuart McLeery (as he presents himself), is brought in from St Mary Mags to invigilate. 4. A prison officer, Mr Jackson, is stationed outside Evans's cell throughout the exam. 5. Telephone checks are made with the examination board. 6. A police detective (Stephens) is posted specifically to watch Evans through the cell's peephole at regular intervals. 7. The Governor himself listens in via a hidden microphone planted in the cell. Despite all these elaborate precautions — which the Governor is proud of — Evans escapes during or immediately after the examination. The story then follows the Governor's increasingly desperate attempts to recapture him.

Evans's escape plan is a masterpiece of preparation and misdirection — and Colin Dexter reveals it in delicious stages: The key elements of the plan: 1. The fake invigilator: • The man who arrives as 'Reverend Stuart McLeery' is not the real Reverend McLeery — he is an accomplice of Evans. The real Reverend McLeery is found later, bound and gagged in his own house. • The fake McLeery smuggles in crucial items under his robes — including an inflatable dummy and a sheet of paper with escape instructions hidden inside the German question paper. 2. The German question paper: • The question paper itself contains the escape route in German — a sheet placed under the actual exam paper. Evans reads the instructions (in German, which the officers can't read) during the exam. 3. The disguise: • The fake McLeery smuggles in a wig — a parson's wig — for Evans to wear. Evans changes his appearance. • He also has a semi-deflated rubber ring (as if for a hemorrhoid) which is actually a blood pack or pouch. When the alarm is raised, the impression is created that McLeery has been hit on the head and is bleeding — but it is Evans disguised as McLeery who is 'found' wounded in the cell. 4. The golden misdirection: • When the escape is discovered, Evans is already gone — but 'the wounded invigilator' (actually Evans in disguise) is found in the cell, bleeding profusely. • The police rush the wounded 'McLeery' to hospital, giving Evans enough time to get away. The real McLeery turns up later, having been held at his own home. 5. The hotel: • A coded address in the exam paper leads Evans to a hotel where his confederates have set up a hiding place. The Governor decodes the clue and finds Evans there — but it is Evans who has the last laugh: he has a further escape arranged.

The ending is brilliantly ironic and shows that even when the Governor appears to win, Evans has the last move: The ending: • The Governor decodes the clues in the examination paper and tracks Evans to the hotel (the Golden Lion in Chipping Norton). • He arrives and has Evans arrested — he is handcuffed and placed in a police car, apparently recaptured. • But the final twist: the 'police officers' driving the car are Evans's confederates in disguise. Evans is not being taken to prison — he is being driven away to freedom again. The Governor has been fooled one more time. • The story ends with Evans's confederates driving him away — 'Evans the Break' has broken free once more. What the story suggests about the cat-and-mouse game: 1. Intelligence vs. institution: • The Governor is intelligent, careful, and proud of his security arrangements. But Evans is smarter — he has planned every contingency, anticipated every countermeasure. • The story is a celebration of criminal ingenuity over institutional complacency. 2. The Governor's blind spot: • The Governor's weakness is his pride. Each time he thinks he has Evans cornered, he congratulates himself a little too soon. Evans exploits this. 3. The 'harmless' criminal: • Evans uses his reputation as 'harmless' strategically. The authorities are less vigilant than they might be because he is not considered dangerous. His charm and apparent goodwill lower their guard. 4. The story's tone: • Colin Dexter's tone is playfully satirical — he is not asking us to admire Evans as a role model, but we cannot help admiring the audacity and precision of his planning. • The story is a delightful thriller that doubles as a gentle mockery of official self-satisfaction.