# XXVI: 5:25 a.m.—There Was a Sailor explained — Murder by the Clock

> Chapter companion for Murder by the Clock by Rufus King.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/murder_by_the_clock_se/chapters/xxvi-5-25-a-m-there-was-a-sailor
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/murder_by_the_clock_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/murder_by_the_clock_se/chapters