The Eagle of the Ninth Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

Marcus and Esca have now been traveling for two days. After traveling overnight through a wild storm, Esca sells Vipsania and Minna in a dun and returns with two shaggy ponies, provisions, and a new cloak for Marcus. They continue south, traveling mostly at night. One evening, just as Marcus announces they’ll reach the Wall in three days, riders and hounds appear over a ridge crest, clearly after Marcus and Esca. Marcus and Esca mount their ponies and gallop as fast as they can, hoping they can stay ahead until dark. The ponies begin to flag, but because they’re terrified, they keep going. Finally, when the hunters are close, they spot a stream. They startle two fighting stags, leap off their still galloping ponies, and hide under an overhang as the ponies continue galloping. The hunting party follows the stags and ponies.

Tensions rise as Marcus and Esca finally find themselves in a place where they have to confront the tribesmen hunting them. While the natural world has, in some ways, made their journey more difficult (such as with the storm that likely slowed their progress and the uneven terrain of the area), nature nevertheless seems to help them as they reach the riverbed and come upon the stags. The stags give the tribesmen something else to pursue that’s also valuable, though in a different way from Marcus, Esca, and the Eagle.

Active Themes

Once the hunting party is out of sight, Esca says he and Marcus need to follow the stream in the other direction while they can. They wade along it for a while before climbing out and heading south until they reach a good hiding place. The Wall is at least two days away, and Marcus’s leg aches. After a short rest, they get up to keep going, but they stop when they notice movement below. It turns out to be a cow and Guern, once again whistling the Roman song. Marcus reveals himself.

Active Themes

The Eagle of the Ninth: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis