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straight ahead of them sturdy and strong, offering a kind of sanctuary, one side gilded by the sun, the other in deepest shadow.
    Mrs. Fordham caught her breath. Palfrey glanced at her, and saw that her whole expression had changed. She had seen something which appalled her. She was staring along the lane near the gate, and he looked in the same direction. He saw the man, lying on his stomach, arms crumpled beneath him. He was a big man, wearing blue jeans which had faded almost to white, and a yellow shirt. He had reddish hair, very curly. This was the man he had seen from the helicopter, of course; whom he had kept on remembering. He had had no idea Mrs. Fordham’s car would pass so close.
    Now, the woman by Palfrey’s side slowed down, stopped, and applied the hand brake with controlled deliberation. She said with the unnatural precision of the greatly shocked: “That’s my husband. They attacked him, too. Oh God, what has come upon us?”
    She began to open the door and climb out. Palfrey, too, slid out on his side, watching not only the woman but the hedgerows, even the low branches of the tree.
    He looked for ‘rabbits’.
    And he put his hand, protectively, to his neck.
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Chapter Five
The Exodus
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    All the time, Palfrey’s mind was working, probing, acutely alive to the fact that there must be other aspects he had missed. He was deeply troubled by the significance of the cloud of smoke or vapour. Confident that it would be watched, and that whenever he needed to make a closer examination he could do so, he had come here with this woman, but he had warned no one of possible danger from the ‘smokescreen’; that had been a mistake. He glanced behind, to see Police Sergeant Cooper’s colleague, and a man he did not know, together in the police car. He beckoned. The men were so intent on the body near the gateway, that they did not notice him. He gave a hissing sound between his lips; the woman took no notice but the men looked up.
    The policeman came hurrying.
    â€œYes, sir?”
    â€œHave you a radio?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œFlash a message to your headquarters asking them – telling them – to be extremely cautious until we know the truth about the smokescreen. It could be poisonous.”
    â€œRight, sir.” Unperturbed by that ominous suggestion, the policeman cast a troubled glance at Betty Fordham. She had reached the body, and stood looking down at it. Palfrey waved the men away and stepped to her side. She did not appear to notice him.
    Palfrey saw the stain of blood in the earth, from the wound in the dead man’s neck. He was sure of death in his own mind, but bent down and felt for the left wrist. The woman made no comment, and did not stir.
    Palfrey drew back from the lifeless hand.
    â€œDave,” Betty Fordham whispered. “Oh, Dave.”
    Palfrey took her arm, but she stood, as immovable as a rock.
    â€œDave,” she repeated.
    â€œMrs. Fordham,” Palfrey said, “we need your help more than ever.”
    â€œHelp,” she echoed without looking up.
    â€œVery great help,” said Palfrey. “You may have seen something which no one else in the world has seen. It’s more than ever necessary for you to talk only to me, for the time being.”
    She didn’t speak.
    â€œHave you any children?”
    Huskily, she said: “No, no children.”
    So, children could not comfort her, and there would be no companionship. He watched her, his mind still seeking and probing. One simple thing dropped into place. Two men had probably bled to death, as a result of wounds in the throat; so throats must be protected before any close examination of the field was made, and a warning must be flashed back. But this was not the factor that teased him, hovering on the edge of his conscious mind.
    He heard a car engine, and looked up to see an army jeep with half-a-dozen men in it,