The Grave-digger of Monks Arden

Tall, lithe and of great strength was Daunt, the grave-digger of the ancient church of St. Benedict, in the little village of Monks Arden, about three miles from Saffron Walden. His head was big and bullet-shaped and his hair was closely cropped, as if he had just come out of prison. He had dark and deeply sunken eyes, and, as if to hide their expression, he kept them nearly always half closed. His shoulders were broad, but his loins were narrow and his figure tapered down to bony legs and very long feet.

His general appearance was certainly not a pleasing one, and holding himself, as he always did, with his shoulders hunched and his head bent forward, he gave to many who encountered him in the country lanes at night the suggestion of a prowling beast of prey.