"It does," I admitted. "But you were dead, or you appeared to be, when I left you last night."
"I don't quite understand," he said. "What do you mean?"
I told him then how I had stumbled across his body on my return the previous evening, how I had identified him, and, satisfied that he was dead, had left him to attend to more pressing business. I related how I had scoured the valley that very morning and failed to find the least trace of him. What was the explanation of the seeming miracle? I asked.
"There's nothing miraculous about it," he said. "Last night I must have been creased, sort of stunned, you know. The bullet didn't go near any vital part. It just ploughed along the back of my neck and knocked me unconscious. I suppose I would seem pretty dead to anyone who stumbled across me. It's not always so easy for a layman to tell whether a man is really dead or not. However, I remember coming-to just on daylight, and hearing someone crashing through the bushes. It struck me then that I didn't know how things had panned out, so I'd better take cover until I made sure. So when you were hunting for me I was running away from you, keeping a couple of jumps ahead all the time. I gradually edged round towards the cave, and was just in time to see a dim figure slip out into the bushes. I wasn't close enough to see more clearly. Miss Drummond, you say. Yes, I suppose so; but I didn't know that then. However, as the cave seemed deserted after that I took possession with the intention of turning the tables. And then——But you know the rest yourself. How much further have we got?"
"Lots," I said. "The others are dead and buried, and I have found the original site of the hut. Once we locate the lone tree we're right."
"That should be easy enough," said Moira with a woman's airy assurance.
Cumshaw watched us both with a queer smile flickering about his lips.
"What do you think of it, Carstairs?" he said at length.
"I don't fancy there'll be much difficulty in that," I answered. "It should be plain sailing from now onwards."
"It strikes me," he said, "that we're just entering upon the toughest stretch of the lot. However, the sooner we get to work the better. I vote we start right away."