“No, sir!” declared the guard with emphasis. “The tide ain’t this high in a month. It’s murder, that’s what it is—bloody murder!” and he bent over the dead man with twitching shoulders. “He’s right,” said Colton, who had been examining the corpse hastily. “This is no drowning case, The man was stabbed and died instantly.” “Was the unfortunate a friend of yours?” asked Professor Ravenden benevolently of the coastguard. “No, nor of nobody’s, was Paul Serdholm. No later than yesterday he picked a fight with me, and——” he broke off and looked blankly at the three men. “How long would you say he had been dead?” asked Haynes of Colton. “A very few minutes.” “Then we may catch the murderer!” cried the reporter energetically. “Professor Ravenden, I know I can count on you. Colton, will you take orders?” “You’re the captain,” was the quiet reply. “Then get to the cliff top and scatter, you three. The murderer must have escaped that way. You can see most of the gully from there. Not that way. Make a detour. I don’t want any of our footprints on the sand between here and the cliff.” The patrol hesitated. “Bruce, I’ve had twenty years’ experience in murder cases,” said Haynes quickly. “I’ll be responsible. If you will do as I direct for the next few minutes we should clear this thing up.” “Right, sir,” said the man. “Come back here in fifteen minutes, then, if you haven’t found anything. Professor Ravenden, I will meet you at the Sand Spit station in half an hour. You the same, Dr. Colton.” As the three started away, Haynes moved up to Colton and said in a low tone: “The same wound?” Dick nodded. “Without a shadow of doubt. It’s Whalley of course. What will you do?” “Stay here and collect the evidence we shall need.” No sooner had the searchers disappeared up the gully than Haynes set himself whole-heartedly to the work he loved. His nerves were tense with the certainty that the answer was writ large for him to read. Indeed, it should have been almost ridiculously simple. On three sides was the beach, extending eastward and westward along the cliff and southward to the water-line. Inland from where he stood over the body, the hard sand stretched northward, terminating in the rubble at the gully’s mouth. In this mass of rubble, footprints would be indeterminable. Anywhere else they would stand out like the mark on a coin.