here have been a half dozen policemen walking about here," said
Ashton-Kirk, pointing to the soft earth under the window. "And that is
fatal to any sort of close work, even had there been anything in the
first place."

However, in spite of this, he went over every yard of the space about
the house; at the rose arbor he paused.

"Directly in line with the sitting-room window," he said. "No doubt
young Burton placed it with that in mind; the invalid sister would love
to see the roses in early summer."

He walked behind the structure, and then Bat Scanlon saw him pause
suddenly and bend over, rigid with eagerness.

"What is it?" asked the big man.

For answer the criminologist pointed to the ground; sharply indented in
the sod were the marks of a small, high heeled shoe; and Scanlon stood
staring at them perplexed.

"What do they signify?" asked he. "There are likely to be footprints all
over the place--male and female. I'll venture to say that half the
residents of the street have been prowling about in this space since the
murder was done."

"That is a possibility always to be guarded against," said Ashton-Kirk,
quietly. "But there has been a policeman on guard all the time, so, you
see, the chances are greatly reduced." He studied the narrow imprints
with great care; they were firmly pressed into the damp sod, the high
heels making a decided puncture. "The night before last was a bright
one," he added, finally, as he straightened up and looked at Scanlon.
"At about the time the murder was committed the moon hung about there,
full and unobstructed, if you remember. Now, suppose you, for some
secret reason, entered the grounds at that time. The whole space on this
side was flooded with light; and yet you desired to get a view of what
was going on in the sitting-room; at the same time you were most anxious
not to be seen. What would you be most likely to do?"

Scanlon looked around and considered.

"About the only thing to do in a case like that," said he, "would be to
take cover behind this rose arbor."

"Right!" approved the investigator. "And now, consider: once behind it,
the only place from which you could fully overlook the window desired
would be here," indicating a certain spot; "the vine has 'made wood' too
heavily at all the other points to permit of uninterrupted vision. And
right here, you will notice these footprints are the most often
repeated; they are also deeper, showing that the woman, whoever