Essay Questions

Who is Mac Boat?

The villain of this story is the leader of the most notorious gang of counterfeiters in this part of the country. So notorious and damaging is their nefarious business that Silas eventually comes across federal marshal who has been charged with tracking them down. Roscoe Ollerenshaw has learned of the mastery of a new photographic technique being practiced by Martin, Silas Bird’s father, as well as the fact he is Scottish and has concluded that he is actually a man named Mac Boat. And so, one day he sends his men to steal father from son. This criminal action which stimulates the narrative is perpetrated as a result of Roscoe believing that Martin Bird is, in actuality, the world’s greatest counterfeiter who seemingly vanished off the face of the planet several years earlier: a man named Mac Boat. And so the real question at hand which underlies the narrative is not simply who is Mac Boat, but rather are Mac Boat and Martin Bird really the same person?

Who and why does Mittenwool finally decide to haunt?

Silas, the narrator and protagonist, has been both cursed and blessed with an unusual ability: he can see and interact with dead people. One of these dead people—he doesn’t like to be called a ghost, though that is exactly what he is according to almost every definition—is a near-constant companion named Mittenwool. Mittenwool could technically, perhaps, be described as haunting Silas since he interacts with him, but the general connotation of haunting is one of negative interaction. It is clear enough that nobody else around Silas can either see or hear Mittenwool since Silas is inevitably made the object of teasing when he is witnessed seemingly talking to himself.

It turns out, however, that the reason nobody else is aware that Mittenwool actually does exist is simply because Mittenwool prefers it this way. Late in the story, he is finally give cause to alter this preference in one very specific and particular case. Roscoe Allerenshaw is in custody, but nevertheless is still able to terrorize Silas with his soulless glare intimating immediate vengeance should the opportunity ever rise. Having finally been pushed beyond the limits of his naturally cool control, Mittenwool proceeds to make his presence know to auditorily to the savage outlaw to the point of turning him into a caterwauling Rittenhouse of a pathetic coward.

What’s the deal with Pony?

This story has a lot going on within it. It’s got a guy who has discovered a new way of making photographs. It has a gang of counterfeiters wanted by the U.S. government. It even has a ghost. So, why is it titled after the horse with a white face? It’s not as if the pony can communicate with the narrator in the same direct way that the ghost can; it’s just a regular horse. Pony may be just a regular horse without a Mr. Ed type of ability to engage in discourse using English, but he definitely establishes a bond with Silas that allows this especially sensitive child to understand there is something going on here that is out of the ordinary. Pony first shows his “bone-white face” when he arrives with the three men sent by Roscoe to abduct Martin Bird and force him his criminal conspiracy. After they leave Silas alone, however, the very same “bald-faced pony” shows up again, this time alone. Eventually, it will be revealed that this immediately identifiable horse already has an owner and that he has come back to Silas with good reason and fine purpose. His deal is that he may be just a regular horse, but possesses unusual abilities just like his new owner.