Outside the fence the ground was sandy and in places rippled like the sand left by the receding tide. From the gate the sandy path wound away towards the hall, which it skirted to gain the street, and on it were the old man’s tracks and those of his daughter, who was wearing rubber-soled canvas shoes.

No two persons walk alike. The gait of every human being varies from normal to when he is sick, and again when his mind is controlled by strong emotion. An aboriginal, on seeing the imprint of a naked foot, will seldom fail to name the owner of the foot that made it.

Following a request put forward by Bony, the police party had proceeded to the hut away from the path, and Bony, who walked after the three men, had automatically observed their boot prints on the ground. Until this case was concluded he would not fail to recognize the tracks made by those three men, as well as those made by Mrs Fanning, any more than he would fail to recognize their faces.

Marshall wore boots size nine. He walked with greater pressure on the back of his heels than elsewhere, and the toes were almost in alignment with the heels. The heel pressure denoted a man who had received rigorous training. The doctor’s toes were placed outward a little more than that of the average white man, and the greatest pressure was at the extreme tip of the toes, denoting an eager, easily excited mind. His stride was much shorter than that of the sergeant, indicating that he was a short man or fat. In point of fact he was shortish and tubby. Gleeson placed his toes slightly inward, with greatest pressure on the inside of the soles. His boot print could have been made by any stockman accustomed to much horse riding, but the regularity of his stride and directness of his walk indicated a man trained in a military camp-in his case the police barracks. His boot size was seven: the doctor’s size was eight.