eyed the ragged man keenly. "He looks to be a half-baked
body," he said as if to himself.

"Aye, the poor thing's mazed," bleated out an old man who had hobbled
down to the edge of his garden to look on.

"Has any one missed anything?" the Corporal went on after hearing the
rest of the story. "Who's got any clothes drying to-day?"

There was a long silence and much shaking of heads, till some one said:
"'Twas Mary Mugford was saying that she missed something or 'nother;
stockings, was it, or chimases, two months agone. Where's Mary
Mugford?" But Mary Mugford had discreetly retired, for she saw a new
figure coming up the road, the figure of a lady, tall and slender,
dressed all in black and with a huge black bonnet, from which there
peeped out the oval face with the chestnut curls and the great blue
eyes, which we saw in the picture at Bracefort Hall, with the name of
Lady Eleanor underneath it. Dick and Elsie ran to her at once, and the
Corporal shortening the horse's halter in one hand, drew himself up,
saluted, and made his report.

"It's a poor half-witted lad, my Lady, and they thought he had stolen
some clothes. He got playing with the boys over an eel which they
caught, and let it get away, but I can't find that he meant no harm nor
hasn't taken nothing, but the boys got worriting him and scared him a
bit, I am afraid."

The strange woman looked at the Corporal with softened eyes and a sigh
of relief; and then Lady Eleanor turned to her, with her hand resting
on Dick, who had come round to her side, and said very gently:

"Is it true that he is not quite right in his head?"

The strange woman nodded.

"Have you ever known him steal?"

"Never," she answered hoarsely. "'Tis seldom I let mun out of my sight
among strangers, but he slipped away from me to-day."

"You have no other children?"

"No," answered the woman, almost fiercely.

"I see that the boys have hurt him," Lady Eleanor went on. "Bring him
down the road by the well, and let me wash the blood away;" and leading
the way she dipped her handkerchief into the water and was about to
wash the blood-stained face herself, but stopped and gave the
handkerchief to the woman. The villagers had withdrawn respectfully
apart, and the idiot, no longer frightened by their presence, had
ceased blubbering. He blinked foolishly while his face was washed; but
when it was clean he looked at Lady Eleanor's beautiful face and
grinned, and then at Dick