a leg.

"Tak' un up to the oast-house. Here! one o' you go and fatch a
policemun and 'nother on you goo right on and tell doctor what we found.
How soon can you get there?"

"'N 'our, cross the fields."

"Cut, then. He'll gi'e you a ride back in his chay."

The two men started, and, the figure being raised, it was carefully
borne along the dark green alley out into the open sunshine, and then
along to the shelter of a huge espalier, kept there to shelter the
hop-garden from the western gales.

Not a word was spoken, the men keeping still and walking as if
awestricken along by the great green bank, startling the velvet-coated
blackbirds, which flew out on either side and skimmed along near the
great flowery ditch, and passed over the top a hundred yards ahead.

Twice over a cotton-tailed rabbit darted out of the hops and plunged
into the ditch, to reach its burrow in the sandy bank, while on and on
the men tramped with their burden, whose bright scarlet coat, laced with
gold, stood out vividly against the green of the hops on one side and
that of the tall hedge on the other.

"Nay, he's only quite a boy," said Smiler, who, as soon as his
remonstrance had been conscientiously disregarded, lent himself to the
task with far more energy than he had directed toward carrying the
pails.

"Say, one of you," cried Joey, "go and lay that old bed out in the
oast--one I had last year for kiln-watching."

"What that there in the hop-pocket?"

"That's it, lad;" and another man ran forward up the hillside.

A few minutes later the burden was borne in through the wide entrance of
the building to where the man who preceded them had dragged out the
rough mattress used by the watcher through the night of the clear coal
fires. And here in the cool shade the burden was gently laid; and the
men stood round in silence, looking at the pale face before them and
then at each other as if asking what to do next.

"He's gone!" whispered Smiler, whose grotesque face gave him the aspect
of enjoying it all as some horrible jest.

For they had hardly decently composed the stiffened figure upon its soft
elastic couch before it uttered a low, deep groan.

"Nay," said Joey, in a whisper, "he's with us yet, lads; men don't die
when you can see that."

A shudder ran through the group as they leaned forward to gaze at that
to which the man pointed, and there plainly to be seen in the great
windowless place by the light which came in thro