The appearance Hayle had presented when he had turned up at the Ford two months before was nothing compared with that of this individual.

He was a small man, not more than five feet in height.

His clothes were in rags, a grizzly beard grew in patches upon his cheeks and chin, while his hair reached nearly to his shoulders.

His face was pinched until it looked more like that of a skeleton than a man.

Grantham stood and stared at him, scarcely able to believe his eyes.
"Good Heavens," he said to himself, "what a figure! I wonder where the beggar hails from ?" Then addressing the man, he continued, "Are you an Englishman, or what are you ?" The man before him, however, did not reply.