"
II
Jim Bagley and his new "hired man," pursuing a suggestion made
by the latter, went to the top of Quill's Window for a bird's-eye
view of the river and the surrounding country. The sharp eyes of
the Pinkerton man descried the rowboat under the willows along the
opposite bank of the stream.
Half an hour later, Bagley and several companions came upon the
boat. On one of the seats lay Rosabel Vick's heavy coat and the
black fur collar she was known to have worn when she left home.
Under the seat in the stern was a small paper bundle. It contained
a nightgown, a pair of black stockings, and several toilet articles.
Across the river, several hundred yards above Quill's Window, a small
gravelly "sand-bar" reached out into the stream. Here the practised
eyes of Gilfillan found unmistakable indications of a recent landing.
The prow of the boat, driven well out upon the bar, had left its
mark. Also, there were two deep cuts in the sand where an oar had
been used in pushing off. It was impossible to make out footprints
in the loose, shifting gravel.
Mr. Gilfillan pondered deeply.
"That boat crossed over here yesterday," he reflected. "It's pretty
clear that it belongs over on that side. If the Vick girl came over
in it, there's no use looking for her on this side of the river.
That boat couldn't have got back to the other side unless somebody
rowed it over.
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