Carver’s Pursuit of Wells

The Luminaries

This thread follows Carver’s search for Crosbie Wells, the escalating contest over stolen identity and gold, and the final violence that destroys their rivalry.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Search Begins A Search Begins from "The Luminaries". A Search Begins Carver seeks a lost crate Using Wells’s papers, Carver advertises a reward for a missing shipment.

A Search Begins from "The Luminaries". A Search Begins Carver seeks a lost crate Using Wells’s papers, Carver advertises a reward for a missing shipment.

A Search Begins Carver seeks a lost crate Using Wells’s papers, Carver advertises a reward for a missing shipment. He hopes to recover the dresses and gold without exposing his own name. A trail reaches the Coast The crate is never returned, but Carver later pays Tauwhare for Wells’s location. His pursuit shifts from cargo to the man who may know the secret.

Carver Visits the Cottage Carver Visits the Cottage from "The Luminaries". Carver Visits the Cottage A private encounter Carver reaches Wells’s cottage before Lauderback’s party.

Carver Visits the Cottage from "The Luminaries". Carver Visits the Cottage A private encounter Carver reaches Wells’s cottage before Lauderback’s party.

Carver Visits the Cottage A private encounter Carver reaches Wells’s cottage before Lauderback’s party. The circumstances of their meeting are never fully established. A suspicious departure Carver returns to Hokitika and sails aboard Godspeed before dawn. The timing and a laudanum phial later make him a central suspect.

The Séance Names Him The Séance Names Him from "The Luminaries". The Séance Names Him A staged message turns real At Lydia’s séance, she speaks Cantonese words that Ah Sook recognizes as his own threat against Carver.

The Séance Names Him from "The Luminaries". The Séance Names Him A staged message turns real At Lydia’s séance, she speaks Cantonese words that Ah Sook recognizes as his own threat against Carver.

The Séance Names Him A staged message turns real At Lydia’s séance, she speaks Cantonese words that Ah Sook recognizes as his own threat against Carver. Her performance unexpectedly makes the feud public. Carver becomes the target Ah Sook learns that Carver remains in Hokitika. The long-delayed revenge moves from memory to an immediate plan.

A Warrant and a Hideout A Warrant and a Hideout from "The Luminaries". A Warrant and a Hideout The gaoler hunts Ah Sook After learning that Ah Sook bought a Kerr Patent pistol, Shepard issues a warrant and sends men to search for…

A Warrant and a Hideout from "The Luminaries". A Warrant and a Hideout The gaoler hunts Ah Sook After learning that Ah Sook bought a Kerr Patent pistol, Shepard issues a warrant and sends men to search for…

A Warrant and a Hideout The gaoler hunts Ah Sook After learning that Ah Sook bought a Kerr Patent pistol, Shepard issues a warrant and sends men to search for him. Margaret shelters the fugitive Ah Sook hides in Margaret Shepard’s home, disguised in borrowed clothes. Carver visits, unaware that his pursuer is concealed nearby.

The Feud Ends in Death The Feud Ends in Death from "The Luminaries". The Feud Ends in Death A shot in the alley Shepard intercepts Ah Sook outside the Crown and kills him before he can reach Carver.

The Feud Ends in Death from "The Luminaries". The Feud Ends in Death A shot in the alley Shepard intercepts Ah Sook outside the Crown and kills him before he can reach Carver.

The Feud Ends in Death A shot in the alley Shepard intercepts Ah Sook outside the Crown and kills him before he can reach Carver. The gaoler describes the killing as lawful intervention. Carver survives only briefly Carver is later arrested for fraud and dies during transport after being attacked. Neither feud reaches a full legal reckoning.

June 1865

Night of 14 January 1866

18 February 1866

20 March 1866

Night of 20 March 1866