IN THE OPEN CODE
Plot.
Initial Impulse. George Roberts, freight engineer, drinker and fighter, on the way to ruin and discharge, falls in love.
Steps toward the Dramatic Climax: He passes every day the home of his sweetheart and toots his whistle in a musical code fashion, “to let her know he’s safe.” The whistle has a softening effect on a crowd of woodsmen, engaged in restoring a Virginia manor house and grounds. “The world seemed a bit better for it.” The signal ceases. The cynics say the engineer is probably drunk again. But one of the men, Gordon, makes a special trip to the village to find out.
Dramatic Climax: The engineer and the girl, he learns, are married; they are away on their honeymoon.
Steps to the Climax of Action: The signal is resumed farther along the line, where the engineer and his wife have set up a home of their own. For three weeks the signal is faithful; then it ceases, again, abruptly. After four days Gordon goes again to the village. Just as he returns, the men hear the signal fainter and farther away.
Climax of Action: Gordon tells the men that the wife is dead and is buried farther down the line; he whistles “to let her know he’s safe.”
Presentation. “It made a neat little story,” Mr. Kline says of the engineer’s reclamation and present custom of signaling. But without the supporting band of workmen to throw it into relief it would hardly stand alone. The group becomes, then, an integral part of the 1,500 word narrative which is given to the reader.
Characterization. The girl, whose name is not even mentioned, is the most potent character—or, perhaps, love as expressed through her makes her, symbolically, dominant. The engineer is the most important, by virtue of his active rôle; the workmen are the background characters, as they come under the influence of the simple demonstration of affection; they are the foreground characters, as the story is presented. What traits are manifest in various individuals of the group? How do these traits sharpen the dénouement?
Setting. Why is Virginia chosen?
Details. What contribution is made by the choice of “Annie Laurie”? On what thought does the final bar end? Did you, as you read, notice this sinister clue? Why not?