While "Lot No. 249" is primarily an adventure story, the situation is problematic enough to raise some interesting questions. What does it mean to be a gentleman?

Is it a code of conduct or an attitude of mind? Abercrombie Smith seems to be a true gentleman, but he is placed in a position in which he has to choose between obeying the law and disobeying the law in order to achieve an important social good: the restoration of safety and social order in his small community. As such the story considers the questions of ends and means.

For instance, we see that William Monkhouse Lee has given his word as a gentleman to Edward Bellingham not to reveal a secret.

He keeps his word but may have endangered his own life in doing so. Should he have done so? Abercrombie Smith's actions are just the reverse. His...