No trace of violence was to be found.

All was in order, as if old Madge had been still there.

There was even an ample supply of provisions, enough to last the Ford family for several days.
The absence of the tenants of the cottage was quite unaccountable.

But was it not possible to find out the exact time they had quitted it?
Yes, for in this region, where there was no difference of day or night, Madge was accustomed to mark with a cross each day in her almanac.
The almanac was pinned up on the wall, and there the last cross had been made at the 6th of December; that is to say, a day after the arrival of James Starr, to which Ryan could positively swear.

It was clear that on the 6th of December, ten days ago, Simon Ford, his wife, son, and guest, had quitted the cottage.