Tied securely to the end of this there was an equal length
of twine. Tied to the end of the latter, there was a long length
of fish line, at the end of which there was a fairly heavy sinker.
There was no gut or hook, just the sinker.

Professor Brierly looked approvingly at the unkempt, red-eyed
detective.

"Good work, Mr. Brasher! Splendid! Where did you find it?"

"I'm not as clever as you think, Professor, or I would 'a' had
this yesterday. I looked around after you left Miller's Folly. I
found tracks of a motorcycle on the ground a short distance away.
We're pretty careful about smuggling any booze around here, you
know, Professor, so I asked around, thinking maybe a trooper on
our side or mebbe one of the Mounties on this side would have seen
or heard a motorcycle.

"A trooper on our side of the line heard a motorcycle about two
o'clock yesterday morning. I figgered that if it had bumped off
Miller, I wouldn't want to be carting around with me, any longer
than I had to, several hundred yards of rope and twine, like you
said he had to have. Not with troopers snoopin' around and asking
questions mebbe that might be hard to answer.

"I asks myself what would I do with it? I snooped around and about
a quarter mile from the Folly there is a gully with weeds growin'
over it so you can't see it unless you know it's there or you fall
into it. The motorcycle tracks lead right up to this gully. Mebbe
the bird who bumps off Miller rides into it at night. About
twenty, thirty yards from the place he rides into it, I find
this." He nodded toward the rope which Professor Brierly was
carefully examining as he was uncoiling it.

Professor Brierly looked up, a trace of anxiety in his deep eyes.

"Was there water in the gully, Brasher?"

"A little, not to amount to anything."

The anxiety in Professor Brierly's eyes deepened. "Running water,
Brasher?"

"Oh, no, not that. Just a little water in the bottom from some
rain mebbe, or, mebbe it was seepage."

Professor Brierly's features cleared. There was no hesitation in
his manner. He turned briskly to Matthews.

"Did the microscope and slides come, John?" When Matthews answered
in the affirmative, he continued:

"A large vessel, John, and some clear cold water."

He turned to the detective.

"Lie down on the hammock there, Brasher, while I am making some
tests. I'll wake you when--"

"Do you mind, Professor, if I watch you--if I watch you make your
tests?"

"C