# Reuben Trethewy — Tracks in the Snow character guide > Reuben Trethewy in Tracks in the Snow by Godfrey R. Benson. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Silas Trethewy, Trethewy **First appearance:** 0001-tracks-in-the-snow ## Snapshot A grizzled Cornish handy man and former seaman, Trethewy is the gardener whose tracks in the snow become the case's most damning clue. ## Who they are Trethewy lives in a cottage by the lane gate, a short, sturdy, weathered man whom Peters prizes for his multifarious skills and rough worldly knowledge. His walk home through fresh snow on the night of the murder fixes him at the centre of the police's new theory, and his family's later fortunes draw the narrator across Europe. Loyal, capable, and quietly compromised, he is the hinge on which the physical evidence of the crime turns. ## Relationships ### [Eustace Peters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/eustace_peters) _friendship_ Eustace and Reuben share a close, trusting bond, possibly as allies or confidants within a dangerous environment. ### [William Vane-Cartwright](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/william_vane_cartwright) _rivalry_ Reuben and William are adversaries, with Reuben likely opposing William's plans or authority. ### [James Callaghan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/james_callaghan) _friendship_ James and Reuben are allies, possibly working together against common enemies like William Vane-Cartwright. ### [Sergeant Speke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/sergeant_speke) _professional_ Reuben and Sergeant Speke have an official relationship, likely with Speke investigating or monitoring Reuben. ### [James Callaghan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/james_callaghan) _friendship_ James and Reuben are allies, possibly working together against common enemies like William Vane-Cartwright. ### [Eustace Peters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/eustace_peters) _friendship_ Eustace and Reuben share a close, trusting bond, possibly as allies or confidants within a dangerous environment. ### [William Vane-Cartwright](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/william_vane_cartwright) _rivalry_ Reuben and William are adversaries, with Reuben likely opposing William's plans or authority. ### [William Vane-Cartwright](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/william_vane_cartwright) _rivalry_ Reuben and William are adversaries, with Reuben likely opposing William's plans or authority. ## In the story ### [Tracks in the Snow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/tracks-in-the-snow) Suspect whose boots are matched to the tracks in the snow. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/i) The gardener and odd-job man at Grenvile Combe, a Cornishman with a roving past, Methodistical but prone to drinking and sullen moods. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/iii) Provides an alibi for the night of the murder, claiming he was at his uncle's house and returned home at 4 a.m. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/iv) Confronted by the Superintendent about the boots; claims they look like his but does not know where they were found. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/v) Arrested a week after the murder; his cottage is searched, revealing a case of surgical instruments and evidence of threats against Peters. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/vi) Confesses to having desired Peters' death and struggled with religious guilt, but maintains his innocence of the actual murder. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/vii) Committed for trial based on circumstantial evidence; later proven innocent by the candle evidence. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/viii) Mentioned as an innocent man initially suspected; Callaghan toys with the idea of his guilt. ### [The Structure of Theory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/x) Trethewy is mentioned as the initial suspect, and Vane-Cartwright lied about his behavior toward Peters, a lie that Trethewy later confessed to the narrator. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xi) The narrator presses for his release, but the police official says it is being considered; Trethewy's confession is mentioned as proving Vane-Cartwright's falsehood. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xvi) Mentioned as having been released and found a new situation. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xvii) Father of Ellen; previously accused of Peters' murder; now living under Vane-Cartwright's patronage. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xviii) The father; leaves for a milldam repair, returns to help the narrator and Ellen after the fire. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xix) Silent toward Vane-Cartwright after the fire; reveals plans to move to Canada; devises a plan to protect Ellen. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xxii) Trethewy's earlier confession and story are referenced in the defense's arguments. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/chapters/xxiii) Now the narrator's gardener; his daughter is a board-school mistress in London. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters/reuben_trethewy - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tracks_in_the_snow_se/characters