# Sal Rawlins — The Mystery of a Hansom Cab character guide > Sal Rawlins in The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Sal, Sarah Rawlins, Rawlins, The woman Rawlins **First appearance:** 0001-the-mystery-of-a-hansom-cab ## Snapshot A sharp-witted woman of Melbourne's slums whose knowledge of the city's shadowed corners gives her a dangerous leverage over the murder case. ## Who they are Sal Rawlins belongs to the world of back lanes and cheap lodging houses, a survivor whose hard life has taught her to read people as quickly as they misjudge her. She carries secrets about the night of the murder that the respectable investigators need and the guilty would kill to suppress, and her loyalty is not easily bought. Her presence pulls the mystery down from St. Kilda drawing rooms into the gutters where the truth actually lives, and her testimony becomes a hinge on which the case turns. ## Relationships ### [Brian Fitzgerald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/brian_fitzgerald) _social_ Brian knows Sal Rawlins as a marginal figure in the underworld, connected to the events surrounding Oliver Whyte's death. ### [Madge Frettlby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/madge_frettlby) _social_ Madge encounters Sal Rawlins as a mysterious figure from the lower classes who knows secrets about her family. ### [Madge Frettlby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/madge_frettlby) _social_ Madge encounters Sal Rawlins as a mysterious figure from the lower classes who knows secrets about her family. ### [Brian Fitzgerald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/brian_fitzgerald) _social_ Brian knows Sal Rawlins as a marginal figure in the underworld, connected to the events surrounding Oliver Whyte's death. ### [Brian Fitzgerald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/brian_fitzgerald) _social_ Brian knows Sal Rawlins as a marginal figure in the underworld, connected to the events surrounding Oliver Whyte's death. ### [Madge Frettlby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/madge_frettlby) _social_ Madge encounters Sal Rawlins as a mysterious figure from the lower classes who knows secrets about her family. ## In the story ### [A Woman of the People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xv-a-woman-of-the-people) Referenced by Calton as a key figure whose testimony will determine Fitzgerald's safety. ### [Missing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xvi-missing) The key missing witness; last seen in a Sydney slum with a Chinaman after leaving the Salvation Army; cannot read, making reward notices ineffective. ### [XVII: The Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xvii-the-trial) Missing witness; her return is announced at the end of the chapter. ### [Sal Rawlins Tells All She Knows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xviii-sal-rawlins-tells-all-she-knows) Returns after illness to give crucial testimony, describing her role in bringing Fitzgerald to the 'Queen' on the night of the murder. ### [The Verdict of the Jury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xix-the-verdict-of-the-jury) Key witness who testifies that Fitzgerald was with her at the time of the murder. ### [The Argus Gives Its Opinion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xx-the-argus-gives-its-opinion) Key witness whose testimony proved Fitzgerald's alibi and led to his acquittal. ### [Three Months Afterwards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxi-three-months-afterwards) Now Madge's maid, learning to read; reveals how she and Mother Guttersnipe found the dying woman and summoned Oliver Whyte. ### [XXII: A Daughter of Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxii-a-daughter-of-eve) Departs just before the chapter begins; her visit prompts Madge's renewed questioning about the secret. ### [XXIV: Brian Receives a Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxiv-brian-receives-a-letter) Mentioned in Calton's letter as the one who found Rosanna Moore drunk and took her in. ### [Mother Guttersnipe Joins the Majority](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxvii-mother-guttersnipe-joins-the-majority) Identified as the daughter of Rosanna Moore and Mark Frettlby, and thus Madge's half-sister. ### [XXIX: Mr. Calton’s Curiosity Is Satisfied](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxix-mr-calton-s-curiosity-is-satisfied) Identified as the true legitimate heir of Mark Frettlby, being the daughter of Rosanna Moore. ### [Nemesis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxx-nemesis) Watches Frettlby sleepwalk, tries to stop Madge from seeing the papers, and after the deaths hides the incriminating documents. ### [XXXI: Hush-Money](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxxi-hush-money) Takes charge of the household after Frettlby's death, reveals the marriage certificate to Calton and Fitzgerald, and pledges silence about the secret. ### [XXXII: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxxii-de-mortuis-nil-nisi-bonum) Nurses Madge and is instructed to let no one see her. ### [The Love That Lives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxxv-the-love-that-lives) Given a yearly income and remains ignorant of being Mark Frettlby's daughter; she dedicates herself to saving fallen women in the slums. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/sal_rawlins - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters