" replied the sergeant. "There are no marks on the path
itself--the rock is too hard, and so is the ground above, I fear. But
I'll go over it carefully all the same."

The investigations being so far concluded, the body was lifted on to the
stretcher, and the cortege, consisting of the bearers, the Doctor, and
the fisherman, moved off towards the Gap, while the sergeant, having
civilly wished us "Good-evening," scrambled up the Shepherd's Path, and
vanished above.

"A very smart officer that," said Thorndyke. "I should like to know what
he wrote in his notebook."

"His account of the circumstances of the murder seemed a very reasonable
one," I said.

"Very. He noted the plain and essential facts, and drew the natural
conclusions from them. But there are some very singular features in this
case; so singular that I am disposed to make a few notes for my own
information."

He stooped over the place where the body had lain, and having narrowly
examined the sand there and in the place where the dead man's feet had
rested, drew out his notebook and made a memorandum. He next made a
rapid sketch-plan of the bay, marking the position of the body and the
various impressions in the sand, and then, following the double track
leading from and to the Shepherd's Path, scrutinized the footprints with
the deepest attention, making copious notes and sketches in his book.

"We may as well go up by the Shepherd's Path," said Thorndyke. "I think
we are equal to the climb, and there may be visible traces of the
murderer after all. The rock is only a sandstone, and not a very hard
one either."

We approached the foot of the little rugged track which zigzagged up the
face of the cliff, and, stooping down among the stiff, dry herbage,
examined the surface. Here, at the bottom of the path, where the rock
was softened by the weather, there were several distinct impressions on
the crumbling surface of the murderer's nailed boots, though they were
somewhat confused by the tracks of the sergeant, whose boots were
heavily nailed. But as we ascended the marks became rather less
distinct, and at quite a short distance from the foot of the cliff we
lost them altogether, though we had no difficulty in following the more
recent traces of the sergeant's passage up the path.

When we reached the top of the cliff we paused to scan the path that ran
along its edge, but here, too, although the sergeant's heavy boots had
left quite visible impression