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“Nah, it’s caged underwater where it flows in and out of the grounds. Big enough to let fish through but not big enough to let the animals get through. Not the ones we are interested in keeping in.”

Steph made a note of this in her notebook. They walked on.

Again, Steph could see the tell-tale signs of wild boar. She also saw in the saturated mud the distinctive outline of bear prints. The sliding of the prints suggested that the animal had been running at speed.

Birds whistled in the trees above. Steph wondered whether they were on a greater alert with the sudden influx of big animals around. Then again, none of them really affected the birds in any way.

Another noise announced the passing of a large bird of prey somewhere above the trees. Davey looked up smiling. Steph waited for him to look down and then raised an eyebrow.

“Golden Eagle!” Davey smiled. “One of ours. It’s fascinating when they take down a drone.”

“Drone?”

“Every so often one of the locals will try and fly one over to see things but these guys make quick work of them.”

Steph supposed it was one way of doing things.

“How far to this cabin?” Steph asked, taking a drink from her flask.

“A couple of minutes,” Davey replied, “Just over that little rise.”

Everything about the surrounding land seemed to be about rises and falls. It was irrepressibly undulating. However, thismade it exceedingly beautiful, mainly due to the higher peaks in the distance and expanses of trees, but didn’t make it any less tiring to tread . Steph wiped her brow.

They reached the crest of the small rise. Sure enough, there was the cabin, just a couple of hundred yards ahead near a small clump of trees but otherwise in a more open location than Roger’s.

They began descending towards the lonely dwelling. Davey looked left and right, ensuring they were not being followed or watched. Steph had already started to become accustomed to doing the same.

She was curious as to what the man in the hut would be like. What would his story be? Would he be similar to Roger? She fixed her eyes on the cabin. Davey continued to look over his left shoulder, something clearly bothering him.

Steph narrowed her eyes at the cabin, slowing her walk. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell what from where they were. She had never even seen the cabin before – but something felt wrong. She held out an arm across Davey.

“What?” he said, reluctantly turning his head.

“I don’t know,” Steph replied.

“You don’t know? What?”

Davey’s face displayed his mild irritation at the hold-up, but he didn’t move. Steph thought about her words. She didn’t want to come across as overdramatic or even oversensitive.

“Does everything look right to you down there?” she asked after a few moments.

Davey began looking intently towards the cabin, craning his neck slightly to try and spot what exactly might not be looking right.

“How so?” Davey asked, unable to spot what had made Steph uncertain.

“Is the door open?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So he is not outside.”

“What’s your point?”

“Is that wise, considering?”

Davey took a deep breath and then exhaled, puffing out his cheeks.

“Probably not, but I have never found Fergus the most careful of men.”