But Nepenthe is not a good place for finding corpses. The
island is full of fathomless rents and fissures. A good many
foreigners, especially such as were known to carry loose gold in their
pockets, had been suspected of falling into them without leaving a
trace behind. Yet a thorough search was instituted, for he knew that
criminals were not always as clever as they thought themselves; some
insignificant relic might turn up--a shred of clothing or so forth. Such
things were occasionally picked up on Nepenthe; nobody knew to whom
they belonged. The Cave of Mercury, on being searched, yielded nothing
but a trouser button, apparently of English manufacture. Enquiries were
also made as to when the ill-starred gentleman had last been seen, and
where. Finally, the judge drew up a list, a fairly long list, of all
the suspicious characters on the place with a view to placing them
under lock and key, in expectation of further developments. Such was
the customary procedure; one must assume the worst. If innocent, they
might of course regain their liberty in a year or two.
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