Nichols soon allowed Lincoln into his cottage, and calmed Lincoln's horse, who was still frightened. Nichols then sought another corporal at the home, before both men went to investigate the road Lincoln had taken. At the intersection of the path to the Soldiers' Home and a main road, the men found Lincoln's hat. Upon inspection, Nichols and the corporal found that the hat had a bullet-hole through its crown. However, Lincoln himself sustained no injuries. Nichols remarked that the bullet had been fired upward, and it was evident that the person who fired the rifle had "secreted himself close to by the roadside."