"I've got awfully sharp eyes, you know," said Fatty, feeling tremendously pleased with himself. "Fancy, no one but me saw that! I really have got brains."
"Shut up!" said Larry. "It was just chance, that's all, that you saw it." He put the scrap back into his match-box.
Every one felt a bit excited. "I like being a Find-Outer," said Bets happily.
"Well, I don't know why," said Pip. "You haven't found out anything yet. I found the place where the man hid, and Fatty found a bit of his coat! You haven't found a thing!"
It was Larry who found the footprint. He found it quite by accident. The gap in the hedge led to a grassy field, where it was impossible to see any prints at all. But the farmer had been along and taken a few squares of turf from a certain part, and at one side near the edge, was a distinct footprint!
"It's the farmer's, I expect," said Pip, when Larry showed it to him.
"No - there's the farmer's print," said Larry, pointing to a big hob-nailed print, which appeared up and down the bare patch. "This is a smaller print altogether. I shouldn't think it's more than size eight, and the farmer's footprint looks like size twelve! It's enormous. I think this must be the print of the man we are looking for. Let's see if we can find another."
The children hunted about. Nothing could be seen on the grass, of course, so they went to the edges of the field. And there Daisy found three or four more footprints,
some on each side of the stile that led out of the field into a lane beyond.
"Are these the same prints?" she called. The others came running. They looked hard. Larry nodded his head. "I believe they are," he said. "Look - these shoes have rubber soles with criss-cross marking on them. Pip, run back to that other print, and see if the marking is the same, will you?"