# Dutreuil — The Eight Strokes of the Clock character guide

> Dutreuil in The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Gaston Dutreuil, M. Dutreuil

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-the-water-bottle

## Snapshot

A friend of twenty years who cannot explain himself, Gaston Dutreuil drags Rénine into a condemned man's last hope and a family's grief.

## Who they are

Gaston Dutreuil arrives at Rénine's door stammering that Jacques Aubrieux is innocent, yet offers no evidence beyond loyalty and outrage. He leads Rénine and Hortense into a Neuilly household where two weeping women have spent months certain that innocence alone must save a man from the scaffold. His helpless devotion matters because it is the human engine of the case: a friend's faith against a court's verdict, and the first thread Rénine must pull.

## Relationships

### [Hortense Daniel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/characters/hortense_daniel)

_rivalry_

Dutreuil is hostile toward Hortense Daniel, often working against her interests.

### [Hortense Daniel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/characters/hortense_daniel)

_rivalry_

Dutreuil is hostile toward Hortense Daniel, often working against her interests.

### [Hortense Daniel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/characters/hortense_daniel)

_rivalry_

Dutreuil is hostile toward Hortense Daniel, often working against her interests.

## In the story

### [The Water-Bottle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/chapters/ii-the-water-bottle)

Childhood friend of Jacques Aubrieux; brings Rénine and Hortense to the Aubrieux home.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/characters/dutreuil
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_eight_strokes_of_the_clock_se/characters