us the tide was out. He went up the stone steps by the
watch-house, and turned at the top to wish us good-night. That was the
last time I saw him alive."
"Do you know anything of the relations between the accused and the
deceased?" the coroner asked.
"Very little," replied Jezzard. "Mr. Draper was introduced to us by the
deceased about a month ago. I believe they had been acquainted some
years, and they appeared to be on excellent terms. There was no
indication of any quarrel or disagreement between them."
"What time did the accused leave the yacht on the night of the murder?"
"About ten o'clock. He said that he wanted to get home early, as his
housekeeper was away and he did not like the house to be left with no
one in it."
This was the whole of Jezzard's evidence, and was confirmed by that of
Leach and Pitford. Then, when the fisherman had deposed to the discovery
of the body, the sergeant was called, and stepped forward, grasping a
carpet-bag, and looking as uncomfortable as if he had been the accused
instead of a witness. He described the circumstances under which he saw
the body, giving the exact time and place with official precision.
"You have heard Dr. Burrows' description of the footprints?" the coroner
inquired.
"Yes. There were two sets. One set were evidently made by deceased. They
showed that he entered St. Bridget's Bay from the direction of Port
Marston. He had been walking along the shore just about high-water mark,
sometimes above and sometimes below. Where he had walked below
high-water mark the footprints had of course been washed away by the
sea."
"How far back did you trace the footprints of deceased?"
"About two-thirds of the way to Sundersley Gap. Then they disappeared
below high-water mark. Later in the evening I walked from the Gap into
Port Marston, but could not find any further traces of deceased. He
must have walked between the tide-marks all the way from Port Marston to
beyond Sundersley. When these footprints entered St. Bridget's Bay they
became mixed up with the footprints of another man, and the shore was
trampled for a space of a dozen yards as if a furious struggle had taken
place. The strange man's tracks came down from the Shepherd's Path, and
went up it again; but, owing to the hardness of the ground from the dry
weather, the tracks disappeared a short distance up the path, and I
could not find them again."
"What were these strange footprints like?" inquired
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