The Leavenworth Case · Chapter
The Missing Witness explained
The narrator is woken by Q disguised as a tramp, who gives him a note revealing that Hannah is hiding in a specific room in Mrs.
What happens
The narrator is woken by Q disguised as a tramp, who gives him a note revealing that Hannah is hiding in a specific room in Mrs. Belden's house. After a tense breakfast, a ruse lures Mrs. Belden away, and the narrator forces his way into the locked room, only to find Hannah dead.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Truth
Hannah's hidden location and the narrator's forced entry underscore the tension between concealed knowledge and the pursuit of truth.
Appearance vs. Reality
The tramp is revealed to be Q in disguise, and Hannah's seemingly peaceful sleep turns out to be death.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Receives Q's note, waits anxiously, then breaks into Hannah's room and discovers her dead.
- Q
Disguised as a tramp, delivers a note revealing Hannah's location and arranges to get Mrs. Belden out of the house.
- Hannah
Found dead in a locked back room, having apparently died in her sleep.
- Amy Belden
Lured away from the house by a false report of a neighbor's fit, allowing the narrator to search for Hannah.
Key passages
“I fled and cried out death.”
The narrator quotes Milton's line about fleeing in terror of death.
Sets a somber tone for the chapter's discovery.
“She is here; I have seen her; in the room marked with a cross in the accompanying plan.”
Q's note confirms Hannah's location in a specific room.
Key clue leading to the confrontation.
“Great God! when did life ever look like that? What sleep ever wore such pallid hues, such accusing fixedness?”
The narrator realizes Hannah is dead, not asleep.
Climactic moment of horror and revelation.