"So it appeared to me at the time, when, although I had not then seen the image of the monkey, I perceived, by the absolutely regular character of the impressions, that they were made, not by a living creature, but by the model of one which had been firmly pressed into the soft ground at slightly varying intervals. Since no footprints other than those of Sir Jeffrey were to be found in the vicinity, I was unable to account for the presence of the person who had made these impressions. I devoted myself to a close scrutiny of those footprints of Sir Jeffrey's which led up to the scene of the attack. It became apparent, immediately, that some one had _followed_ him ... some one who crept silently along behind the unsuspecting victim ... some one so clever that he placed his feet _almost exactly_ in the marks made by the baronet! "Good! I had accounted for the presence of the murderer. He struck Sir Jeffrey with some heavy implement, but failed to stun him. Then began the struggle, which so churned up the ground that all tracks were lost. The murderer prevailed. He was a man of wonderful nerve. Never once did he place his foot upon virgin ground; not one imprint by which he might be identified did he leave behind him!" "Then how," inquired Damopolon, who was hanging upon every word, "did he leave the scene if----" "Listen," snapped East. "I found by the body the torn paper in which the china image had been wrapped--but no string! I went all the way to London to learn if the parcel had been tied with string and if Sir Jeffrey had been carrying a stick!" "But surely," said Damopolon, "I could have saved you the journey, since I was with the late baronet immediately before he set out for home." "Quite so--but I had another reason for my visit." East shot a sudden glance from Damopolon to myself, and there ensued a moment of electric silence. "Beside the track made by the feet of the image," he resumed slowly, "I found a series of wedge-shaped holes, one on either side of each monkey-impression. Do you follow me, Mr. Damopolon?" "Perfectly," replied the Greek, taking up and lighting a cigarette. "Wedge-shaped holes, you say?" "They were the clue for which I sought! I saw it all! The china ape had been used as a _stepping-stone_! The cunning criminal had thus gained the firm ground in the coppice without leaving a footprint behind!..." "But, my dear East," I interrupted, "I cannot follow you. He stepped from beside the body on to the image, which he had placed at a convenient distance?" "Yes. Then, by means of loops of string--see, they are still attached!--he lifted it forward with his feet----" "But----" "Supporting his weight upon two sticks--Sir Jeffrey's and his own! Hence the wedge-shaped holes beside the track! He had actually reached firm ground when his own stick snapped off short, and he made the fatal error of leaving the fragment and the ferrule, imbedded in the hole! Here is the fragment!"