hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four houses in
that street were already served and she was now bound for the homes of
customers several squares away. Then her step slowed just a bit. She
was a quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace of this bright morning
sank into her heart and made her rejoice in its beauty. All around her
the foliage was turning gently to its autumn glory of colouring and the
dewdrops on the rich-hued leaves sparkled with an unusual radiance. A
thrush looked down at her from a bough and began its morning song. Anna
smiled up at the little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune.

But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her flushed
cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to the ground.
With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let the burden of the
milk cans drop gently from her shoulder to the ground. In following the
bird's flight her eyes had wandered to the side of the street, to the
edge of one of the vacant lots, there where a shallow ditch separated
it from the roadway. An elder-tree, the great size of which attested its
age, hung its berry-laden branches over the ditch. And in front of this
tree the bird had stopped suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick
movement of the wild creature surprised by fright. What the bird
had seen was the same vision that halted the song on Anna's lips and
arrested her foot. It was the body of a man--a young and well-dressed
man, who lay there with his face turned toward the street. And his face
was the white frozen face of a corpse.

Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, in wide-eyed
terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to pull herself together
again. A few steps and then she turned and broke into a run. When she
reached the end of the street, breathless from haste and excitement, she
found herself in one of the main arteries of traffic of the suburb, but
owing to the early hour this street was almost as quiet as the lane she
had just left. Finally the frightened girl's eyes caught sight of the
figure of a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet
him and recognised him as the officer of that beat.

"Why, what is the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so excited?"

"Down there-in the lane, there's a dead man," answered the girl, gasping
for breath.

"A dead man?" repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the girl. "Are
you sure he's dead?"

Ann