The Problem of the Covered Bridge

infobox Book |
name = The Problem of the Covered Bridge
author = Edward D. Hoch
country = United States
language = English
publisher = Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
genre = short story
release_date = 1974
media_type = Magazine
followed_by = The Problem of the Old Gristmill

"The Problem of the Covered Bridge" (1974) is a mystery short story by Edward D. Hoch which was first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. It is part of a sub-type of the locked room mystery known as an impossible crime story. It introduces the characters of Dr. Sam Hawthorn, Sheriff Lens, and the town of Northmont.

Plot Summary

The story begins with old Dr. Sam Hawthorn telling a story to an unnamed listener. He tells about how he came to the small town of Northmont, in his new yellow Pierce-Arrow. He focuses on the Bringlow family, Jacon and Sarah, their daughters Susan and Sally, their son Hank, and his fiancee Millie. Dr. Sam is treating Sarah, and has come to really know the Bringlows. He even notices that Hank is reading copies of "Hearst's International" magazine that include the two-part Sherlock Holmes story, The Problem of Thor Bridge. Hank has to take a jar of apple sauce to Millie's house in a horse and buggy. Sam and Millie ride behind Hank, also in a horse and buggy. Along the way, Walt Rumsey stops Sam and Millie's buggy by taking his cattle across the road to drink. Sam and Millie follow Hank's tracks to a covered bridge. The tracks enter the bridge, but don't come out the other side, and there is a smashed jar of applesauce in the middle of the bridge. The horse and buggy, and Hank, have disappeared.

The Bringlows decide to call Sheriff Lens, who believed that Hank would turn up because he was in the habit of playing tricks. Eventually, they do find Hank, sitting on the side of the road in his buggy, shot in the back of the head. The reins have been tied to the horse, and the horse was sent off on its own, meaning that Hank was already dead when the horse was set loose. Dr. Sam investigates Walt Rumsey, and tries to apply the solution of the Problem of Thor Bridge to this problem. When he works out what has happened, he gathers all of the suspects at the Bringlow house to reveal the solution.

What tipped off Dr. Sam was that Walt had been taking his cows to drink at a pond with ice on the top. Dr. Sam reveals that the disappearance started out as a joke by Hank, who had enlisted the assistance of Walt Ramsey. Walt Ramsey used an old pair of carriage wheels, linked by an axle, to create a fake horse and buggy track. When the cows blocked Sam and Millie, Hank and Walt created the fake set of tracks, and then Hank hid in Walt's barn. Walt had been in love with Millie and saw his opportunity to kill his romantic rival and escape punishment.