Kilpatrick was killed in a theatre by unknown assailants, with a letter on his body warning him he faced death and after a diviner had predicted his end.

Eventually, Ryan works out that the nationalists knew they had been betrayed to the British authorities and Kilpatrick admitted he was the accuser.

After sentencing him to death, Nolan agreed to make his passing a memorable affair in Irish history.

In addition to the plays Julius Caesar and Macbeth, with often heavy irony Borges links his story to many predecessors.

Among them are: In 1970 the story was adapted into an Italian film called Strategia del ragno (The Spider's Stratagem), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.