.

The cold douche had cooled Peter's hot head, the running quickened his
blood and his thoughts, a sudden grim fear braced his brain to quite
unusual activity.

As he ran he recalled the events of the night before; their meeting with
Gard and Nance; Tom's scurrilous insults.

If Tom and Gard had met again--Gard would be sure to see Nance home. Had
he met Tom on his way back? And if so--if so--and ill had come to
Tom--why, Gard might get the blame. And--and--in short, though by
zig-zag jerks as he ran--if Gard were out of the way for good and all,
Nance's thoughts might turn to one nearer home. He would be sorry if ill
had come to Tom, of course. But if Gard could be got rid of he would be
most uncommonly glad.

And as he panted after Julie, head down with the burden of much
thinking, just before he reached the sunk way to the Coupee, his eye
lighted on something in the road that caused him to stop and bend--a
button with a scrap of blue cloth attached. He picked it up hastily and
put it in his pocket. On a white stone just by it there were some
red-brown spots. He pushed it with his foot to the side of the road and
was down into the cutting before the heavy-footed neighbours came up.

Julie was ranging up and down the narrow pathway, searching the depths
with a face like a hawk, hanging on to the rough sides of the pinnacles,
and bending over in a way that elicited warning cries from the others as
they came streaming down.

But keenest search of the western slope revealed nothing amid its tangle
of gorse and blackberry bushes, and the eastern cliff fell so sheer, and
had so many projecting lumps and underfalls, that it was impossible to
see close in to the foot.

And then one, nimbler witted than the rest, climbed out along the common
above the northern cliff, whereby, when he had come to the great slope,
he took the Coupee cliff in flank, and could spy along its base.

And suddenly he stopped, and stiffened like a pointer sighting his bird,
peered intently for a moment, and gave tongue.

The chase was ended. That they had sought, and feared to find, was
found.

They came hurrying up, and clustered like cormorants on the slope, Julie
among them, her face grim and livid in its black setting, her eyes
blazing fiercely.

The finder pointed it out. They all saw it--a huddled black heap close
in under the cliff.

Elevated by his discovery, the finder maintained his reputation by doing
the only thing that cou