‘Indeed, but which way did it go and how old was it?’

Sherlock examined the print more closely, trying to picture a deer’s hoof and failing.

‘That way?’ he said, pointing in the direction of the rounded part of the print.

‘Other direction,’ Crowe corrected. ‘You’re thinking of a horse’s hoof, where the round bit is at the front. The sharp bit of a deer’s hoof always points in the direction it is heading. And this one’s a young ’un. You can tell by the small oval shapes behind the print. Those are made by the dewclaws.’

He looked around. ‘See over there,’ he said, nodding his head to one side. ‘Can you make out a straight trail through the bushes and grass?’

Sherlock looked, and Crowe was right – there was a trail, very faint, marked by the bushes and grasses being pushed to either side. It was about five inches across, he estimated.

‘Deer move all day between the area they bed down in and their favourite watering hole, trying to find food,’ Crowe said, still crouching. ‘Once they find a safe route they keep usin’ it until they get spooked by somethin’. And what does that tell you?’

‘Prey tends to stick to the same habits unless disturbed?’ Sherlock replied cautiously.

‘Quite right. Remember that. If you’re lookin’ for a man who likes a drink, check the taverns. If you’re lookin’ for a man who likes a bet, check the racin’ tracks. And everyone has to travel around somehow, so talk to cabbies and ticket inspectors – see if they remember your man.’

He straightened, picking the basket up again, and started off through the trees. Sherlock followed, glancing around. Now that Crowe had pointed out what to look for, he could see sets of different tracks on the ground: some deer, of various sizes, and some obviously something else – maybe wild boar, maybe badgers, maybe foxes. He could also see trails through the underbrush, where the bushes and grasses had been pushed to one side by moving bodies. What had previously been invisible was suddenly obvious to him. The same scene now had so much more in it to look at.