Murder by the Clock · Chapter
XXVI: 5:25 a.m.—There Was a Sailor explained
Lieutenant Valcour interviews Mrs.
What happens
Lieutenant Valcour interviews Mrs. Siddons, who reveals a past incident where Mr. Endicott attacked a servant girl, who was subsequently committed to an insane asylum. Mrs. Siddons identifies the girl's husband as a sailor, and Valcour begins to theorize that this man may have posed as Hollander to gain access to Endicott and commit the murder.
Themes in this chapter
Guilt and Innocence
Valcour grapples with the guilt of Endicott's actions versus the innocence of the servant girl, and the potential guilt of her husband.
Obsession and Control
Mrs. Siddons's obsession with Endicott's perceived wickedness and her satisfaction in his death are highlighted.
Characters to notice
- Lieutenant Valcour
Interrogates Mrs. Siddons about Endicott's past actions and develops a new theory involving a sailor husband.
- Mrs. Siddons
Reveals details about a servant girl attacked by Endicott and her husband, a sailor, while expressing triumph over Endicott's death.
- Herbert Endicott
His past actions toward a servant girl are discussed, revealing a pattern of brutality.
- Mrs. Endicott
Mentioned as a witness who saw the servant girl get into Endicott's car.
- Thomas Hollander
Valcour speculates that the sailor may have posed as Hollander to gain entry to the house.
Key passages
“Her glance, the instant she entered the room, had flown to it surely and accurately. There was no sorrow, no horror or fear of the dead in that glance. It was wholly one of triumph, the satisfied gazing of some revenge that was removed from petty commonplaces.”
Mrs. Siddons looked at Endicott's body with a look of pure triumph, not sorrow or fear, as if she was satisfied that revenge had been taken.
This shows Mrs. Siddons's intense hatred for Endicott and her belief that his death was justified.
“She was committed last year to an institution for the insane.”
The servant girl was sent to a mental hospital a year ago.
This reveals the tragic consequence of Endicott's alleged attack.
“He is a sailor on merchant vessels.”
The girl's husband works as a sailor on merchant ships.
This detail provides a potential suspect for the murder.