The Bad Hat’s Campaign

Billy Deener’s repeated assaults connect Drake’s criminal reach to the thefts, kidnappings, and sabotage that threaten the protagonists.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Watcher at Keeble’s House

A Thief in the Attic Repeated intrusions A mysterious intruder tries to reach Keeble’s plans and concealed work. Kraken identifies the man as Deener, a hireling connected to Drake. A larger plot emerges The break-ins show that the inventions are not merely objects of curiosity. Drake’s network is willing to use force to obtain them, and the club’s private meetings have attracted dangerous attention.

Kraken’s Ambush

Violence in a Lodging House A staged encounter Deener tricks Kraken with a woman’s disguise and attacks him with the peapot. He shoots at Kraken, whose book helps stop the bullet from killing him. A warning ignored The ambush leaves Kraken injured and separated from his livelihood. It shows that Drake’s agents will use deception and lethal violence to silence or control the people who know too much.

Sabotage and Abduction

Deener Strikes Again Damage to the spacecraft Deener enters St. Ives’s silo and damages the craft, helping cause its accidental launch. His destructive impulse harms the experiment even though he does not understand its workings. A final attack Later, Deener helps assault Jack and abduct Dorothy, then faces Winnifred’s gun during the rescue. His campaign ends in the wider violence on the Heath, where Pule kills him.

Early in the club’s investigation

After Kraken begins searching for Drake’s box

From Harrogate to the Wardour Street raid