I felt a moment of fear as Mortimer spoke these words.Holmes sat forward in his excitement,and his eyes showed he was very interested indeed.

'Why did nobody else see these footprints?'he asked.

'The footprints were about twenty metres from the body,and nobody thought of looking so far away,'Mortimer replied.

'Are there many sheep dogs on the moor?'asked Holmes.

'Yes,but this was no sheep dog.The footprints were very large indeed—enormous,'Mortimer answered.

'But it had not gone near the body?'

'No.'

'What kind of night was it?'Holmes asked.

'It was wet and cold,though it wasn't actually raining.'

'Describe the Alley to me.'

'The Alley is a path between two long yew hedges.The hedges are small trees that were planted very close together.They are about four metres high.The distance between the two yew hedges is about seven metres.Down the middle is a path of small stones.The path is about three metres wide,with grass on each side of it.'

'I understand there is a gate through the hedge in one place,'said Holmes.

'Yes,there is a small gate,which leads to the moor.'

'Is there any other opening through the hedge?'

'No.'

'So you can enter or leave the Yew Alley only from the Hall,or through the moor gate?'asked Holmes.

'There is a way out through a summer house at the far end.'

'Had Sir Charles reached the summer house?'

'No.He lay about fifty metres from it,'said Mortimer.

'Now,Dr Mortimer,this is important.You say that the footprints you saw were on the path and not on the grass?'

'No footprints could show on the grass,'said Mortimer.

'Were they on the same side of the path as the moor gate?'

'Yes.They were.'

'I find that very interesting indeed.Another question:was the moor gate closed?'

'Yes.It was closed and locked.'

'How high is it?'asked Holmes.

'It is just over a metre high.'

'Then anyone could climb over it?'

'Yes.'

'What prints did you see by the moor gate?'

'Sir Charles seems to have stood there for five or ten min utes,'said Mortimer.'I know that because his cigar had burned down and the ash had dropped twice off the end of it.'

'Excellent,'said Holmes.'This man is a very good detective,Watson.'