The answer he received startled him. A woman shrieked, and then several of them came tearing past, wild-eyed and white-faced. Rachel looked at Mayne. "What--what is it?" she gasped. But without reply Herbert rushed on towards the disordered group. "What is the matter?" roared Carwell, parting the crowd right and left. "What are ye----?" Then his eye caught sight of a dark object lying in the middle of the corn, and he recoiled. "A body!" he exclaimed, in horrified tone. "God help us--the body of a lass!" It was, indeed, the body of a woman. The harvesters examined it, but they could not recognize the face. It had evidently lain there several weeks among the standing corn. Recognition of its identity was impossible; indeed rain and sun and wind had combined to blot out well-nigh all semblance to humanity. But the dress showed these were the remains of a woman. There was something very pitiful in this poor clay lying there in the sunshine. "Strangled!" muttered Carwell, bending over it; "there is a cord round the throat. Send the women away," he shouted; "this is no sight for them. Poor lass! Dead--and in my field. I wonder who she was. Keep back, Rachel," he added, as his daughter, attracted by the news, came swiftly up. But Rachel did not pause. She had caught sight of the dead woman's dress, and brushed past her father. "Bithiah!" she cried. "It is Bithiah--Tera--Mr. Johnson's ward!" CHAPTER V A NINE DAYS' WONDER In a surprisingly short space of time the news was in every mouth. It drew the idlers of Grimleigh hot-footed to the half-reaped meadow where the corpse still lay amongst the standing corn. But the police, having received early notice, were quickly on the spot, and drew a cordon round the poor remains, that they might in no way be molested. Beyond this, the crowd of fishers and labourers broke into excited groups, arguing and theorizing. "I smelt 'um," said a grey-headed reaper; "eh, I smelt 'um. 'Tis a very bad smell, sure." "'Tis wonder mun was not found afore, William Lee." "You be a fule, George Evans. The poor lass was bedded out in the middle of the field wi' the corn thick about her. Nor smell nor sight could come to sich as passed on the road." "But the maiden must ha' bin dragged o'er the wheat-ears, and so they'd bin beat down. Now, if one saw sich----" "They would think 'twas the rain or God Almighty's wind, George Evans. Eh, and who would look for mun in a cornfield? He who killed yon maiden was cliver for sure." "And who did that, William Lee?" No one was sufficiently speculative or daring to answer this question. Eyes looked into eyes, heads were shaken at heads, but the labourers could guess neither by whom, nor for what reason, the girl had been killed. Mayne alone made an attempt to solve the mystery as he escorted Rachel to her home. "I wonder what Mr. Johnson knows of this?" said he, suddenly.