The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-07-09

nfghtgown, makes it alone in her room
on the Thursday night, lights a fire
not to destroy it; two of her fellow
servants are prying outside her door,
and she knows better than to make a
smell Of burning and to have a lot OF
finder to get rid of-lights a fire, l say,
to dry and iron the substitute dress
after wringing 1t out, keeps the ain
dress hidden, probably on her, and is
at this moment occupied In making
away with it in ome convenient place
on that lonely bit Of beach ahead of US.
1 have traced her this evening to your
fishing village and to n particular cot
tage, which we may possibly have to
visit before we go back. She stopped
in the cottage for some time, and she
came u with, as I believe, something
hidden under her cloak. l had to
choose between taking Rosanna in GUS
tody on suspicion or leaving her for the
time being. For reasons which I won't
trouble you with I decided on making
any sacrifice rather than give the alarm
as soon as tonight to a certain person
who shall be nameless between us. l
came back to the house to ask you to
take me to the north end of the beach
by another way. Sand-in respect of
it's printing off peoples f~ootsteps-is
one Of the best detective officers l
know. If we don't meet with Rosanna
Spearman by coming round on her this
way the sand may tell us what she has
been at if the light only lasts long
enough. Here is the sand"
l followed him, with my heart in my
mouth, and waited at a little distance
for what was to happen next.
As 1t turned out I found myself
standing nearly in the same place
where Rosanna Spearman and I had
been talking together when Mr.. Frank
lin suddenly appeared before us on ar
irving at our house from London.
The last Of the evening light was fad
ing away, and over all the desolate
place there hung a still and awful
calm.
I saw the sergeant start as the shiv-
er Of the sand caught his eye. After
looking at it for a minute or so he
turned and came back to me.
"a treacherous place. Mr.. Better
edge" he said, "and no signs Of Rosanna
Spearman anywhere on the beach, look
where you may
He took me down lower on the shore,
and l saw for myself that his footsteps
and mine We're the only footsteps print
ed off on the sand.
"How does the fishing village bear.
standing where we are now" asked
Sergeant Cuff.
"Cobb's Hole" l answered, that be-
ing the name Of the place. clears as
neal as may be due SOUTH"
81 saw the girl this evening walk
ing northward along the shore from
Cobb's Hole" said the sergeant. "Con-
%sequently she must have been walk
ing toward this place. Is Cobb's Hole
on the other side of that point Of land
there? And can we get to it-now it's
low water-by the beach?"
I answered Yes" to both those cues
lions.
"1f you'll excuse my suggesting 1t
We'll step out briskly." says the ser
geant. 81 want to find the place where
she left the shore before it gets dark"
We had walked. l should say, a cou-
pie of hundred yards toward Cobb's
Hole, when Sergeant Cuff suddenly
went down on his knees on the beach.
to all appearance seized with a sudden
frenzy for saying his prayers.
There's something to be said for
your marine landscape here, after all"
remarked the sergeant. Here are a
woman's footsteps, Mr.. Betteredge
Let us call them Rosanna's footsteps
= until we find evidence to the contrary
that we can't resist. Here's one foot
step going from Cobb's Hole, and here
is another going back to it. Isn't that
the toe of her shoe pointing straight tc
the waters edge? And don't I see two
: heel marks farther down the beach
. close at the waters edge also? 1t looks
as IT she had determined to get to thai
place YOU and l have just come from
: without leaving any marks on the sane
to trace her by. Shall we say that she
walked through the water from this
: point till she got to that ledge Of rocks
> behind us and came back the same
way and then took to the beach AGAR
:. where those two heel marks are still
left? Yes. We'll say that. 1t seems tt
fit in with my motion that she ha(
t something under her cloak when SHIT
left the cottage. No, not something +,
destroy-for. i'll that case. where would
nave been the need of all these precau
tons to prevent my tracing the plac.
+ at which her walk ended? Sometime
to hide is, think, the better guess o
the two. Perhaps. if we go on to tn,
e cottage. we may find out what tina
+ something is"
On the sergeant describing the place
e I recognized it as a cottage inhabited
by a fisherman named Yolland. will
t his wife and two grownup children.
son and a daughter. Rosanna Spear
n man occasionally varied her walk 1,