Evans Tries an O Level

Ans. Value points

• A lurking fear that he might make another attempt
• All possible precautions were taken to see that the O-level German examination arranged in the prison did not provide him with any chance of escape.
• The Governor personally monitored all security arrangements and got the recreational block heavily guarded from where the prisoner could attempt an escape.
• Cell was thoroughly checked by Jackson to ward off the possibility of the presence of any incriminating material which might hamper the smooth conduct of the examination.
• Nail-scissors, nail-file and razor were taken away; and to keep a strict watch on the activities of the cell during the examination, the Governor got it bugged.
• Stephens, was posted to keep a constant vigil on his activities
• Invigilator too was frisked to make sure that he carried no objectionable material with him.

Ans. Value points

• Habitual jail breaker outwits them and slips out of their hands.
• Right from the German teacher’s entry into the prison to the last encounter of the Governor with Evans in the hotel, Evans outsmarts them and proves that they are a pack of ‘good-for-a-giggle’ officers; who are no match to his crafty scheming.
• Neither do they verify the antecedents of the German teacher nor do they authenticate the identity of McLeery
• Thus, both the accomplices of Evans help him to have his last laugh by befooling the authorities.
• Evans carries out all his plans right under the nose of the prison officers without leaving any room for suspicion
• Even at the last moment, at the hotel, when the Governor feels that he has finally nabbed Evans, the prisoner dodges him and slips away thereby having the last laugh.

Ans. Value points

• After having recaptured Evans at Golden Lion, the Governor’s taking things casually was an atrocious blunder.
• He knew fully well that Evans was very clever and also had many friends who were in connivance with him.
• He should not have left him at the disposal of the ‘silent prison officer’ without verifying his credentials.
• Should have personally led Evans to the prison or should have handed him over to a known and trusted team.
• He seemed so impressed by his success at recapturing ‘Evans the Break’ that he overlooked the possibility pf another escape attempt.

Thus, the Governor’s overconfidence in himself made possible the final escape of Evans and proved him to be just another ‘good-for-a-giggle. Gullible Governor’.

Ans. Value points

• The hatching of the escape-plan started with the German tutor’s entry but nobody bothered to verify his antecedents or his activities in jail.
• McLeery’s credentials too were not verified properly.
• Jackson did not get Evan’s ‘bobble hat’ removed.
• Had stephens not been shifted from the cell. The escape-bid could have been foiled.
• Jackson should have searched McLeery thoroughly and the rubber-ring should have been given a closer look.
• Rather than getting flustered, a thorough examination of the wounded man would have checked Evan’s escape.
• After recapturing Evans, the Governor should have personally accompanied him to the jail rather than entrusting him to the unfamiliar van occupants.

Ans. Value points

• Stephens did notice that the parson’s scot accent was ‘broader than ever; he looked ‘slimmer’; and even his long black overcoat almost touched his knees but he didn’t act accordingly.
• Should have promptly brought all these observations to the notice of his superiors instead of letting the invigilator out.

Ans. Value points

• The actual purpose of the question paper and the correction slip was to pass on the details of the escape plant to Evans.
• A photocopied sheet was superimposed on the question paper through which Evans got all the required information without anyone suspecting his intention to escape.
• This ploy was purposely planted to trap the jail authorities into believing that the wounded man was McLeery himself who wanted to help the police in re-arresting Evans.
• The correction slip was later decoded by the Governor to find out the hotel where Evans was to hide after escaping from prison.
• Evans expected the Governor to follow him to the hotel. He wanted to befool him further and thus have the last laugh.

Evans was a young, clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for which he was known ‘Evans the Break’. He was not a violent sort of a person. He was quite a pleasant person and was a star at the Christmas concert. He was a ‘Kleptomaniac’ and had broken jail thrice/ He was a master planner and was very sociable. He knew how to keep inmate contacts with people. In the words of the Governor, he was a pleasant sort of chap with no record of violence.

Ans. Yes it’s true. Sitting inside the prison, an elaborate plan was executed successfully due to Evans friends from the German teacher to McLeery. The calls from the examination board and magistrate’s court and the arrangements of hotel etc. Most important the van that rescues him at the second escape all was organised by Evans friends.

Ans. Evans seems to be telling his teacher that he may surprise everybody by doing well in the exam, but in reality it is a forewarning that he is going to surprise everybody by his masterminded perfect escape-plan.

Ans. One of the inmates of the prison wanted to appear for the German O-Level examination so the governor requested the Secretary of Examinations to make the necessary arrangements.

Ans. The Secretary of the Examination wanted cursory details about the examinee regarding his nature. He wanted to know if Evans was a violent sort of a person. He was told that there was no record of violence.

Ans. To ensure that the German was conducted smoothly and also under strict security Evans’ razor and nail scissors were removed from the cell. The Reverend Stuart McLeery who was the invigilator was frisked on arrival. Police officer Stephens was deputed on duty. All the prison officials were also put on high alert. There were two locked doors between Evan’s cell and the yard. A microphone was installed in the cell as a precautionary measure through which you could listen to their talk by switching on the receiver. The senior prison officer, Jackson and officer Stephens had worked round the clock and made fool proof arrangements and taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that the exam was conducted smoothly.

Ans. It was Evan’s German teacher who shook him by the hand at 8:30 p.m on Monday, 7 June. They met in the heavily guarded Recreational Block, just across from D Wing. The teacher wished him good luck in German, which Evans failed to understand. The teacher observed that he had a remote chance of getting through. Evans remarked that he might surprise everybody. These remarks prove quite meaningful and prophetic.

Ans. It had a sealed question paper envelope, a yellow invigilation form, a special ‘authentication’ card from the Examination Board, a paper knife, a Bible, and a current copy of the ‘The Church Times’.

Except the last two articles, the rest were related to his morning duties as invigilator.

Ans. The index number 313 and the centre number 271 on the answer sheet proved to be the clues for the Governor. Putting the two together and with the help of the Ordnance Survey Map for Oxfordshire, he managed to catch Evans in the hotel.

Ans. Initially, the Governor took them as innocuous, routine information and did not pay much attention. Later on, when Evans had escaped, he consulted the Ordnance Survey Map for Oxfordshire. He found that the six figure reference 313/271 pointed to the middle of Chipping Norton – the place of hiding for runaway Evans.

Ans. He found Evans sitting with his pen between his lips. He was staring straight in front of him towards the door. Opposite him sat McLeery. His hair was amateurishly clipped pretty closely to the scalp. His right index finger was hooked beneath the narrow clerical collar. The fingers of the left hand were slowly stroking the short black beard.

Ans. Stephens saw a man sprawling in Evans’ chair. The front of his closely cropped. Irregularly tufted hair was covered with red blood. It had dripped already through the small black beard. It was now spreading over the white clerical collar and down into the black clerical front. He assumed that Evans had hit McLeery and left the prison impersonating McLeery.

Ans. Evans made a polite request if he could put a blanket round his shoulders as it was a bit chilly there. McLeery told Evans to be quick about it. A minute later, Stephens was surprised to see a grey blanket draped round Evans shoulders.

Ans. The injured “McLeery” claimed to know where Evans was. He showed more interest in arrival of police than of ambulance. He drew the Governor’s attention to the German question paper. The photocopied sheet in German contained the route of escape. He diverted the attention of the prison officers and the police to the person (Evans) who had already left the prison.

Ans. Yes, it is a battle of wits between crime and punishment. If the government and law enforcing officials are vigilant crime can be detected and criminals can be booked. But criminals like Evans can trick the authorities and escape punishment as long as the officials are slow and lack alertness and wit.

Ans. Evans already had a well thought out plan B in case his initial plan failed. When the Governor recaptured Evans, it was important for Evans to show that his initial plan has failed and he was feeling trapped. This ensured the Governor that he was in his clutches and the Governor became a bit casual. This casualness made the Governor hand him over to the silent prison officer. The Governor was unaware that the officer as well as the driver of prison van were actually Evans’s accomplices. As Evans finally escaped, he had the last laugh at the Governor.

Ans. Evans was also known as ‘Evans the Break’, as he had run away thrice from the jail. He was considered a pleasant sort of a chap by the prison authorities. He was good at imitations but was a congenital kleptomaniac. He wanted to sit for examination so as to use the opportunity to escape from the prison.

Ans. Evans did not take off his hat when Jackson ordered him to do so because he had a plan in his mind. Evans had long wavy hair. He had decided to crop them short so as to impersonate McLeery. But this would have been evident if he had taken off his bobble hat. So, he took permission from Jackson to keep his hat on while appearing for the exam on the pretext that it was his lucky charm.

Ans. The Governor gave quite a satisfactory report about Evans to the Secretary of the Board. It was stated that Evans had no record of violence and he was quite a ‘pleasant sort of chap’. Evans was one of the stars at the Christmas concert but he suffered from a weakness. He was a congenital kleptomaniac. On the other hand, he was good at imitations.

Ans. The German teacher did not have a good opinion about Evans’s proficiency in German. He was doubtful about whether he would pass the exam as Evans could not understand even the basic pleasantries in German. So, the teacher was doubtful of Evans’s language ability

Ans. The important call that the Governor received was from the Exam Department. The person said that there were some corrections in the question paper and told the Governor about the said corrections. Besides, the caller also asked for the time when the exam started.

Ans. Evan was a habitual jail-breaker, who outwitted everyone and escaped from the prison in the spite of all the precautions. From the very beginning, when the German teacher entered the prison to the last encounter with the Governor in the hotel, the latter outsmarted everybody. The question paper for the examination served to send a message to Evans. McLeery drew the Governor’s attention to the photocopied sheet super imposed over the last sheet of the question paper. It contained a message for Evans. He had been asked to follow the escape plan. The most important point in time, according to the message was three minutes before the end of the examination. The Governor was unable to decipher the next line of the German text. Then, he was asked to hit McLeery and not to overdo the Scott’s accent. The correction slips also played a crucial role. At first, they hadn’t been able to fix a hotel. The slips gave Evans the name of the hotel where he was to stay.

Ans. Evans decided to appear for the O–level German Examination. When the examination was conducted, one of his accomplices came as the invigilator, McLeery. After the exam, Evans walked out a free man disguised as the examiner McLeery

Ans. The Governor, instead of sending Evans with other officers in some other car, could have got Evans back with himself in his own car or should have sat in the van in which Evans was supposed to go. This way, he could have known that the people in the van were not his men but Evans’s accomplices.

Ans. The Governor came to know where Evans was when he read the note in German on the question paper, about index and centre number.

Ans. The Governor of the HM Prison, Oxford, appears to be a kind-hearted fellow at the start as he arranges for an O-level exam for a prisoner renowned for his ability to escape. He was, though, quite sceptical of Evans and made every arrangement to make sure that Evans had no means to escape. He was also very proud and self-conscious. He did not want Evans to disgrace him by escaping from his prison. He had a sharp presence of mind, which was clear from the fact that he cross- checked every call that was made to the prison that day. He planned the exam meticulously. He was smart enough to decode the message in the correction slip. However, he got over-confident of his arrangements and gave Evans the opportunity to escape. Also, he was a person who did not mind showering praise plan to him, he admired him. At last, he proved to be just another good for giggle, gullible Governor when Evans tricked him again and successfully escaped. His overconfidence and selfpraise let him down.

Ans. In spite of all the precautions taken by the Governor and his staff, they failed to foil Evans’s bid to escape because of certain lapses on their part. First of all, they called a teacher from the technical college to act as Evans’s German tutor, but never cared to check on him. Then, they engaged Reverend S. McLeery to invigilate, but never cared to check on him when he came to discharge his duties. When Stephens raised an alarm, they blindly went by his assumption that Evans impersonating as McLeery had walked out of the prison after injuring McLeery. They did not even bother to check the identity of the injured McLeery. Then, McLeery gave them the slip and disappeared. Belatedly, they discovered that it was Evans impersonating McLeery who had stayed in. Finally, following the clues, the Governor nabs Evans at the Golden Lion Hotel. Here again, he acted foolishly. He rang up the local police station and asked them to send a police van which successfully took Evans away right from under his nose as no security check of the van was done.

Ans. All precautions had been taken for the smooth conduct of the O-level German examination. No one wanted to take chances with ‘Evans the Breaker’. He had already escaped from prison three times. The Governor had to make an unusual request to the Board to conduct the examination in the cell itself. One of the persons from St. Mary Mag was to invigilate. The senior prison officer Jackson and prison officer Stephens left no stone un turned to make all the necessary arrangements. Evans’s razor and nail scissors were taken away as they could be used for cutting his throat or injuring McLeery. Jackson took two hours to search his cell and reported that nothing was hidden there. But Evans disturbed all his plans. He managed to procure a false beard, a pair of spectacles, a dog collar and some sort of weapon in his cell through the false McLeery. Actually, he had managed to keep the real McLeery securely bound and gagged in his study at Board Street. He had been there since 8:15 a.m. This meant that McLeery never went to prison. Secondly, it was Evans who impersonated McLeery and stayed in the cell. Stephens made a hasty conclusion that the injured man in the chair was McLeery. The last act of folly on the part of the Governor was enough to let Evans slip out of his net. Thus, this was how the ‘injured’ McLeery was able to befool the prison officers and Evans was able to escape.

Ans. Evans, the habitual jail-breaker outwits everyone and in spite of all the precautions taken by the Governor, he is able to escape from the prison. From the very beginning, when the German teacher enters the prison to the last encounter between the Governor and Evans in the hotel, the latter outsmarts them at each stage and proves that they are no match for his crafty scheming. Evans carries out all his plans ‘right under their noses’, turning the tables on them, making the prison authorities appear as ‘good for nothing’ officers.

For example, he knew that Mr. Jackson who used a rough tone had some compassion in him. He granted Evans’s request to keep the filthy looking red and white bobble hat on his head during the examination. The hat was actually to hide his recently cropped hair. Also, he knew that prison officers will blindly go by assumption. He pretended to pose as ‘injured’ McLeery in the cell. No one checked the identity of ‘injured’ McLeery as it was assumed that Evans had hit McLeery and escaped.

In fact, Evans is actually, officially escorted out of jail by the prison official themselves. Finally, at the hotel, when the Governor feels that he has been able to nab Evans, he dodges him and slips away