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The Maltese Falcon Scene 12 Summary

  • The ship circled in Gutman's newspaper is at the docks, and it's on fire.
  • A warden tells Spade no one was on the ship when it caught fire. Everyone made it off okay.
  • At the office, Spade fills Effie in on everything that happened…
  • …when a man staggers in with a heavy package wrapped in newspaper.
  • He says it's the Falcon, and he collapses on the couch, dead.
  • Spade cuts open the package.
  • He says it's the Falcon.
  • The phone rings. It's Brigid, she says she's in danger, then she screams before the line goes dead.
  • Spade grabs the bundle and races for the door, but first he tells Effie the dead man was Captain Jacoby, the captain of the ship that burned.