and traced the comets through the heavens: there was no cause to believe it couldn’t conquer now. I was of a branch of science that mainly studied externals, my methods were simply accurate observation, tireless investigation, and logical deduction—the methods of all naturalists the world over; and they were just what was needed here. Presently I forgot the shaken men about me [Pg 77]and began really to observe. First, I tried to fix in my mind the exact way the body had lain. It had been curiously huddled, lying rather on the right side—and the torn, stained shirt-front had been plainly visible. Its location was not far above high-tide mark, at the edge of the lawns—and because the craggy margin of the lagoon was rather precipitous at that place, not more than twenty feet from the water’s edge at low tide. [Pg 77] It was impossible even to hazard a guess what kind of a weapon had inflicted the death wound. But it had not been a clean, stabbing wound to the heart. The wound itself must have been a long gash downward along the breast, for the shirt and waistcoat had been curiously ripped and torn. And possibly the weapon might be found in the grass where the body had lain. I quietly moved back and forth among the group of men, searching for the gleam of moonlight upon a knife blade. It didn’t reveal itself, however, and there seemed no course but to wait for daylight. But as I was about to give up the search my eye caught the glimpse of something white, half-hidden in the grass in the direction of the house. I quietly picked it up, saw that it was a folded piece of heavy paper or parchment, and slipped [Pg 78]it into my pocket. Then I rejoined the little crowd of guests. [Pg 78] “Good Lord, what can we do...?” Pescini was saying excitedly. “The lake can’t be dragged until to-morrow. There’s no use to post guards around this big house—the thickets are so heavy that any one could steal through almost any place. We’ve got the road guarded—and the officers won’t come till to-morrow. It’s true that a couple of us could stand guard here——” here——” “I don’t see what good it would do,” Nopp replied. “The murderer would have no cause to come back again. I suggest we go to the house and get what rest we can. We may have to make some posses in the morning.” In the privacy of my own room
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