The pistol incident in Anna’s room is an episode reconstructed through what Aubert Gascoigne and Edgar Clinch tell others, rather than through a directly presented account of Anna Wetherell firing the weapon. Gascoigne says that Anna’s gun misfired in her hand; Clinch later describes shots and a hole through the middle of her pillow. The difference between the report of two shots and the single hole he finds is left unresolved. The incident thus matters not only as gunfire in Anna’s room, but as an episode in which physical evidence, personal testimony, and delayed disclosure do not neatly coincide.

The Incident as Reported

Gascoigne recounts the gun misfiring to Lydia Wells. He tells her the truth, and she responds with alarm and a series of questions, which he answers thoroughly. His exhaustion is visible in a tremor in his throat. Lydia eventually offers him a chair and a drink; he accepts both with relief, settling into the armchair nearest the sofa. The scene gives the report a human setting: before the pistol becomes evidence in another person’s account, it is news Gascoigne delivers while worn down by what has happened.

Clinch supplies a second account when speaking with Dick Mannering. He says that Gascoigne had been in Anna’s room that afternoon and that shots were fired. Asked whether there were two holes, Clinch answers that there was only one: a hole straight through the middle of the pillow, with stuffing coming out. His description establishes the damage but does not explain how many times the gun was fired. The account of two shots and the single hole remain side by side; the evidence does not resolve their relationship or establish precisely what occurred between Anna and the weapon.

The Pillow and the Limits of Evidence

The pillow makes the incident materially visible. Clinch does not report a wound to Anna; what he says he found is damage to bedding, with the stuffing exposed. That distinction matters. The hole is concrete evidence that something passed through the pillow, but it does not by itself establish Anna’s intention, the exact sequence of shots, or whether the gun’s misfiring account explains everything Clinch noticed. The incident’s meaning therefore depends partly on testimony, not simply on the object left behind.

Clinch also says that Lydia did not see the hole when the shots were fired. According to his account, she arrived later, about two hours after Gascoigne had left. Before departing, Gascoigne had said that he was going to speak to a lady; Lydia’s later arrival gives that remark a possible connection to her, but the account does not confirm that she was the person he meant. The timing is significant precisely because it sets limits: Lydia can question Gascoigne afterward, but she is not described as witnessing the firing or the discovery of the pillow’s damage.

Clinch’s Delayed Disclosure

The conversation with Mannering also brings forward a separate piece of concealed knowledge. Clinch says this is the first time he has mentioned the gold he found in Anna’s dress the previous winter. When he carried her upstairs and lowered her into a bath, he picked up her gown, felt a weight along its seam, broke the hem’s thread, and drew out a shining pinch of gold. The discovery predates the pistol incident, but Clinch’s decision to disclose it now shapes how he interprets the new report of shots.

Clinch has kept the discovery to himself for a long time. The pressure of that concealment gives his outburst an almost crazed appearance, and he remains convinced that Mannering is involved in some scheme without being able to say exactly what it entails. Mannering, for his part, initially appears confused by Clinch’s abrupt reference to Anna’s dresses. Their exchange shows how the pistol report enters a conversation already charged with suspicion: Clinch joins the damaged pillow to his old, private knowledge of the gold, but does not demonstrate that the events are part of one plan.

Consequence and Narrative Significance

The incident leaves several matters open rather than producing a settled account. Gascoigne has reported a misfire and answered Lydia’s questions; Clinch has found one hole and described two shots; Lydia arrives after the firing; and Clinch’s knowledge of the gold emerges only after months of silence. These accounts clarify different parts of the episode without making them fully consistent. Nothing in the evidence establishes that Lydia saw the pistol discharged, that the pillow was the intended target, or that the shooting was connected to the hidden gold.

That uncertainty is central to the episode’s narrative function. A gun that misfires is no longer merely a tool that fails: the pillow’s torn surface makes the event visible, while the mismatch between testimony and damage prevents visibility from becoming certainty. At the same time, Clinch’s delayed confession shows that information about Anna has been held back even before this confrontation. The incident therefore deepens the atmosphere of suspicion around her room, but its evidence supports caution rather than a definitive explanation of Anna’s actions or anyone else’s purpose.