48401    This must be the burrow where the stranger lurked.

48402    At last my foot was on the threshold of his hiding-place - his secret was within my grasp.

48403    As I approached the hut, walking as warily as Stapleton would do when with poised net he drew near the settled butterfly, I satisfied myself that the place had indeed been used as a habitation.

48404    A vague pathway among the boulders led to the dilapidated opening which served as a door.

48405    All was silent within.

48406    The unknown might be lurking there, or he might be prowling on the moor.

48407    My nerves tingled with the sense of adventure.

48408    Throwing aside my cigarette, I closed my hand upon the butt of my revolver, and, walking swiftly up to the door, I looked in.

48409    The place was empty.

48410    But there were ample signs that I had not come upon a false scent.

48411    This was certainly where the man lived.

48412    Some blankets rolled in a waterproof lay upon that very stone slab upon which neolithic man had once slumbered.

48413    The ashes of a fire were heaped in a rude grate.

48414    Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket half-full of water.

48415    A litter of empty tins showed that the place had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became accustomed to the chequered light, a pannikin and a half-full bottle of spirits standing in the corner.