I tore open the Tide Tables and found Bradgate.High tide there was at 10.27 P.m. on the 15th of June.
'We're on the scent at last,' I cried excitedly. 'How can I find out what is the tide at the Ruff?
'I can tell you that, Sir,' said the coastguard man. 'I once was lent a house there in this very month, and I used to go out at night to the deep-sea fishing. The tide's ten minutes before Bradgate.'
I closed the book and looked round at the company.