THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
civilities with the two members of the Puzzle Club. A few refer-
ences to some of the leading London detectives, and the production
of a confidential letter Melville happened to have in his pocket from
one of them, soon established complete confidence, and the inspector
opened out.
He said that he had just been to examine a very important clue a
quarter of a mile from there, and expressed the opinion that Messrs.
Lamson and Marsh would never again be found alive. At the
suggestion of Melville the four men walked along the road together.
*' There is our stile in the distance,*' said the inspector. " This
constable found beside it the pocket-book that I have shown you,
containing the name of Marsh and some memoranda in his hand-
writing. It had evidently been dropped by accident. On looking
over the stone stile he noticed the footprints of two men—which I
have already proved from particulars previously supplied to the police
to be those of the men we want—and I am sure you will agree
that they point to only one possible conclusion."
Arrived at the spot, they left the hard road and got over the
stile. The footprints of the two men were here very clearly
impressed in the thin but soft soil, and they all took care not to
trample on the tracks. They followed the prints carefully, and
found that they led straight to the edge of a cliff forming a sheer
precipice, almost perpendicular, at the foot of which the sea, some
two hundred feet below, was breaking among the boulders.
" Here, gentlemen, you see," said the inspector, " that the foot-
prints lead straight to the edge of the cliff, where there is a good
deal of trampling about, and there end. The soil has nowhere
been disturbed for yards around, except by the footprints that you
see. The conclusion is obvious."
" That, knowing they were unable to escape capture, they
decided not to be taken alive, and threw themselves over the cliff ? "
asked Wilson.
" Exactly. Look to the right and the left, and you will find no
footprints or other marks anywhere. Go round there to the left,
and you will be satisfied that the most experienced mountaineer that
ever lived could not make a descent, or even anywhere get over
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