The Harness Conspiracy Things are not always as they seem. This theme holds true in literature from many different times and many different authors. This theme is definitely a part of "The Harness," for within the story lies a conspiracy. Emma, in cooperation with Peter, staged her own death for the purpose of making money. Emma wanted Peter to plant sweet peas on all their land and get rich. She knew that if Peter decided he was going to plant sweet peas, everyone else in the town would plant them as well. Even with a very limited knowledge of supply-in-demand one can easily see that if everyone