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 the coroner.
"They were very peculiar," replied the sergeant. "They were made by
shoes armed with smallish hob-nails, which were arranged in a
diamond-shaped pattern on the holes and in a cross on the heels. I
measured the footprints carefully, and made a drawing of each foot at
the time." Here the sergeant produced a long notebook of funereal
aspect, and, having opened it at a marked place, handed it to the
coroner, who examined it attentively, and then passed it on to the jury.
From the jury it was presently transferred to Thorndyke, and, looking
over his shoulder, I saw a very workmanlike sketch of a pair of
footprints with the principal dimensions inserted.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68