believes that Pienaar earned that greater salute for his bravery than what he would have otherwise warranted. Pienaar is awarded the VC posthumously, for his action. The reference to "Mr Standfast", a character from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, is because Pienaar is stated as often comparing himself to that fictional character. The plot of The Island of Sheep arises from an incident in South Africa involving Hannay and Pienaar. Pienaar inspires Hannay's character based disguises in The 39 Steps. Notes John Buchan characters Fictional Afrikaners Fictional double agents Fictional hunters Fictional recipients of the Victoria Cross Fictional Royal Air Force personnel Fictional World War I veterans Literary characters introduced in 1916 Male characters in literature