Victor was soon brought before the magistrate, a mild, calm old man. He looked at Victor with some severity, then turned to the men who had brought him and asked who the witnesses were.
About half a dozen men came forward, and the magistrate chose one. The man said he had been out fishing the night before with his son and his brother-in-law, Daniel Nugent. Around ten o’clock a strong north wind had sprung up, so they headed back, and with the moon not yet risen the night was very dark.
As usual they landed not at the harbour but at a creek a couple of miles down the coast. He walked ahead with some of the fishing gear, and on the sand his foot struck something and he fell. When the others caught up and held up their lantern, they saw he had fallen over the body of a man who seemed to be dead.