windows glistened in the sunlight was a house which he knew well
from its other side, its front facade.

Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from
this to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined
every foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that
was of any interest to him-not a footprint, or anything to prove
that some one else had passed that way a short time before. And
yet it would have been impossible to pass that way without leaving
some trace, for the ground was cut up in all directions by mole
hills.

Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would
come into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had
been found. There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller
was obliged to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that
would lead to an understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the
broken willow twig should prove to be a clue. He sprang back
across the ditch, turned up the edges of his trousers where they
had been moistened by the dew and walked slowly along the dusty
street. He was no longer alone in the lane. An old man, accompanied
by a large dog, came out from one of the new houses and walked
towards the detective, he was very evidently going in the direction
of the elder-tree, which had already been such a centre of interest
that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, touched his
cap and asked in a confidential tone: "I suppose you've been to
see the place already?"

"Which place?" was Muller's reserved answer.