There was not even the sound of a footfall to guide him.

Slowly he retraced his steps, lit another match, and leaned over the prostrate figure.

Then he knew that it was a tragedy indeed upon which he had stumbled.
The man was dead, and he had met with his death by unusual means.
These were the first two things of which Laverick assured himself.
Without any doubt, a savage and a terrible crime had been committed.
A hornhandled knife of unusual length had been driven up to the hilt through the heart of the murdered man.

There had been other blows, notably about the head.

There was not much blood, but the position of the knife alone told its ugly story.