They had rounded a corner of the side street while speaking, and then were approaching the rectory. It stood on a plot of ground between the rear of the church and an attractive estate occupied by a handsome wooden dwelling. Both were somewhat back from the street, and an iron picket fence divided the two estates.
As he was approaching the end of this fence where it met the sidewalk, Nick recalled what Harriet Farley had said about Kate Crandall playing the spy near the rectory. He paused to view the adjoining grounds. They would have offered concealment for such a spy, and Nick’s impression proved profitable.
“This way, Patsy, for a moment,” he said quietly.
He saw that there was no path at that point leading to the rear of the house. The close-cut greensward showed faint footprints, nevertheless, and Nick walked into the grounds some twenty yards, carefully inspecting a narrow flower bed that ran parallel to and near the[Pg 13] fence for a considerable distance. He found, not exactly what he was seeking, but of the same character.
He discovered several footprints in the dark soil of the flower bed, at a point nearly back of the rectory and some thirty feet from it. Contrary to Nick’s expectations, however, the imprints evidently had been caused by the shoes of—men.
“By Jove, this opens a new field for conjecture,” said he, calling Patsy’s attention to them. “We have heard nothing about male spies in this locality. Only about the Crandall woman.”
“Gee! that’s right, chief, but these are men’s tracks,” said Patsy, eagerly inspecting them.
“Undoubtedly,” said Nick. “There evidently were two of them. Note the two different sizes, also that the depth of the soles is greater than the heels, and that parts of each overlap themselves, all showing plainly enough that the two men were crouching here and evidently watching something, or some one, through the picket fence.”
“Sure thing. There are no prints in any other part of the flower bed.”
“There certainly were two men, Patsy, one of medium build, the other quite a large man, judging from the size of their shoes,” Nick went on. “Through this shrubbery in the rectory yard they could see only the rear and one side of the house, including the end of the veranda and the conservatory.”