# Chapter V explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

Thomas R. Hefflebomer arrives and confesses to murdering the judge during a fit of mental aberration. Mabel later marries a man named Tompkins, whom she met two years later at Hot Springs.

## Key lines

> The footsteps prove to be those of Thomas R. Hefflebomer of Washington Territory, who introduces positive proof of having murdered the judge during a fit of mental aberration

The approaching person is Thomas R. Hefflebomer, who provides clear evidence that he killed the judge while temporarily insane.

_Confession of murder with a claim of insanity._

> Mabel marries a man named Tompkins, whom she met two years later at Hot Springs.

Mabel eventually marries Tompkins, a man she encountered two years afterward at Hot Springs.

_Mabel's marriage to Tompkins after a two-year interval._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/chapter-v
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters