The Roman Hat Mystery · Chapter
In Which More Hats Grow explained
Inspector Queen, Ellery Queen, and Assistant District Attorney Cronin search Monte Field's apartment for hidden blackmail documents.
What happens
Inspector Queen, Ellery Queen, and Assistant District Attorney Cronin search Monte Field's apartment for hidden blackmail documents. Despite an exhaustive search of the foyer, living-room, bedroom, kitchenette, and bathroom, they find nothing. Ellery then realizes they overlooked the ceilings, specifically the canopy over the bed, and they rush to investigate.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
In this chapter, the emotional peak occurs when Inspector Queen and Ellery are summoned to meet Franklin Ives-…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Deception and False Appearances
The search for hidden papers underscores how Field's respectable facade concealed a blackmail operation.
- The Relentless Quest for Truth
The characters' exhaustive search of the apartment demonstrates their determination to uncover the truth behind Field's murder.
- The Primacy of Rational Deduction
Ellery uses logical reasoning to conclude the papers must be in the apartment and later deduces the overlooked ceiling.
Characters to notice
- Richard Queen
Leads the search of Field's apartment, growing irritable and determined as the search progresses.
- Ellery Queen
Initially confident the papers are in the apartment, he later deduces they overlooked the ceiling and canopy.
- Timothy Cronin
Eager and frustrated during the search, he has worked for years to find Field's incriminating documents.
- Thomas Velie
Briefly appears at the start, leading a frightened stranger away.
- Benjamin Morgan
Mentioned as having informed the Queens about Field's blackmail activities.
- Monte Field
The deceased; his apartment is searched for hidden blackmail papers.
Key passages
“I can’t tell you, Tim, how badly I want to get my hands on those confounded documents of Field’s. They mean a good deal to me. They’d clear up a lot of questions about which we’re still in the dark.”
Inspector Queen expresses his strong desire to find Field's documents, believing they will answer many unanswered questions.
Highlights the Inspector's personal stake in the search.
“Pure reasoning has it that when you have exhausted every possibility but one in a given equation that one, no matter how improbable, no matter how ridiculous it may seem in the postulation — must be the correct one.”
Ellery states that if all other possibilities are eliminated, the remaining one, however unlikely, must be true.
Ellery applies deductive logic to justify searching the ceiling.
