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57 pages 1 hour read

Eye of the Needle

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1978

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Part 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 4, Chapter 19 Summary

Lucy wakes early in the morning, worried the storm has damaged the roof. She gets out of bed and goes downstairs to start a fire. Lucy makes tea for herself and David, then heads for the stairs when she hears what sounds like a knock on the door. Lucy knows that isn’t possible because the only person on the island is Tom and he doesn’t knock. But when the sound comes again, she opens the front door and is shocked to find a man there. The man is suffering from exposure and collapses to the floor. Lucy screams for David who comes rushing to her aid only to criticize her for being frightened.

Lucy begins to undress the stranger because his clothes are wet. She sends David upstairs to get a robe for him. When Lucy begins undoing the man’s jacket and shirt, he wakes up enough to fight her. He insists he can undress himself and asks her to leave the room. Lucy makes more tea and gives some to the stranger to help warm him. Their son Jo, now a toddler, comes downstairs. David begins to interrogate the man, asking him if he was alone on his boat and if he notified the coastguard of his route.

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