Evans Tries An O-Level
It was in early March when the Secretary of the Examinations Board received the call from Oxford Prison. “It’s a slightly unusual request,Governor, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t try to help. Just the one fellow, you say?”
• What kind of a person was Evans?
• What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
Evans Tries an O-Level 71
“That’s it. Chap called Evans. Started night classes in O-level German last September. Says he’s dead keen to get some sort of academic qualification.” “Is he any good?” “He was the only one in the class, so you can say he’shad individual tuition all the time, really. Would have cost him a packet if he’d been outside.”“Well, let’s give him a chance, shall we?” “That’s jolly kind of you. What exactly’s the procedure now?”“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll be sending you all the forms and stuff. What’s his name, you say? Evans?” “James Roderick Evans.” It sounded rather grand. “Just one thing, Governor. He’s not a violent sort of fellow, is he? I don’t want to know his criminal record or anything like that, but — ”
“No. There’s no record of violence. Quite a pleasant sort of chap, they tell me. Bit of a card, really. One of the stars at the Christmas concert. Imitations, you know the sort of thing: Mike Yarwood stuff. No, he’s just a congenital kleptomaniac, that’s all.” The Governor was tempted to add something else, but he thought better of it. He’d look after that particular side of things himself. “Presumably,” said the Secretary, “you can arrange a room where — ” “No problem. He’s in a cell on his own. If you’ve no objections, he can sit the exam in there.” “That’s fine.”
“And we could easily get one of the parsons from St. Mary Mags to invigilate, if that’s — ” “Fine, yes. They seem to have a lot of parsons there, don’t they?” The two men chuckled good-naturedly, and the Secretary had a final thought. “At least there’s onething. You shouldn’t have much trouble keeping him incommunicado, should you?” The Governor chuckled politely once more, reiterated his thanks, and slowly cradled the phone. Evans!
“Evans the Break” as the prison officers called him. Thrice he’d escaped from prison, and but for the recent wave of unrest in the maximum-security establishments up north, he wouldn’t now be gracing the Governor’s premises in Oxford; and the Governor was going to make absolutely certain that he wouldn’t be disgracing them. Not that Evans was a real burden: just a persistent, nagging presence. He’d be all right in Oxford, though: the Governor would see to that — would see to it personally. And besides, there was just a possibility that Evans was genuinely interested in O-level German. Just a slight possibility. Just a very slight possibility. At 8.30 p.m. on Monday 7 June, Evans’s German teacher shook him by the hand in the heavily guarded Recreational Block, just across from D Wing.
“Guten Gluck, Herr Evans.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, “Good luck”. Good luck for tomorrow.” “Oh. Thanks, er, I mean, er, Danke Schon.” “You haven’t a cat in hell’s chance of getting through, of course, but — ”
“I may surprise everybody,” said Evans. At 8.30 the following morning, Evans had a visitor. Two visitors, in fact. He tucked his grubby string-vest intohis equally grubby trousers, and stood up from his bunk, smiling cheerfully. “Mornin”, Mr Jackson. This is indeed an honour.”
Jackson was the senior prison officer on D Wing, and he and Evans had already become warm enemies. At Jackson’s side stood Officer Stephens, a burly, surly-looking man, only recently recruited to the profession. Jackson nodded curtly. “And how’s our little Einstein this morning, then?”
“Wasn’t ’e a mathematician, Mr Jackson?” “I think ’e was a Jew, Mr. Jackson.”
Evans’s face was unshaven, and he wore a filthy-looking red-and-white bobble hat upon his head. “Give me a chance,Mr Jackson. I was just goin’ to shave when you bust in.“Which reminds me.” Jackson turned his eyes on Stephens.“Make sure you take his razor out of the cell when he’s finished scraping that ugly mug of his. Clear? One of these days he’ll do us all a favour and cut his bloody throat.”
Reading with Insight
1. Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?
2. When Stephens comes back to the cell he jumps to a conclusion and the whole machinery blindly goes by his assumption without even checking the identity of the injured ‘McLeery’. Does this show how hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing the obvious? How is the criminal able to predict such negligence?
3. What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to prison when he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does that final act of foolishness really prove that “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”?
4. While we condemn the crime, we are sympathetic to the criminal. Is this the reason why prison staff often develop a soft corner for those in custody?
5. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits?
Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 12 English Evans Tries An O-Level
