THE DOCTOR, HIS WIFE, AND THE CLOCK
BY ANNA KATHARINE GREEN
Anna Katharine Green (Rohlfs), whose name is firmly linked in the public mind with "The Leavenworth Case," is recognized as the foremost American writer of detective stories. Of these, Mrs. Rohlfs considers "The Doctor, His Wife, and the Clock" her most successful effort in the short story form. Additional interest arises from the fact that the scene is laid in those historic old buildings in Lafayette Place opposite the Astor Library, known as "the Colonnade Row," in which lived John Jacob Astor and other rich merchants two generations ago.
THE DOCTOR, HIS WIFE, AND THE CLOCK
By ANNA KATHARINE GREEN
(MRS. CHARLES ROHLFS)
I
On the 17th of July, 1851, a tragedy of no little interest occurred in one of the residences of the Colonnade in Lafayette Place.
Mr. Hasbrouck, a well-known and highly respected citizen, was attacked in his room by an unknown assailant, and shot dead before assistance could reach him. His murderer escaped, and the problem offered to the police was, how to identify this person who, by some happy chance or by the exercise of the most remarkable forethought, had left no traces behind him, or any clue by which he could be followed.
The affair was given to a young man, named Ebenezer Gryce, to investigate, and the story, as he tells it, is this: