Bill knelt there with him, while the rest dashed water upon Jim's face.
At last he began to breathe like a fretful, waking child, and looking up into the scared faces above him, motioned the water away from him. The angry look came back into his face, but it was mixed with perplexity.
He touched his hand to his face and brought it down covered with blood. "How much am I hurt?" he said fiercely.
"Oh, nothing much," Ike hastened to say; "it's just a scratch."
Jim struggled to his elbow and looked around him. It all seemed to come back to him. "Did he do it fair?" he demanded of his companions.
"Oh, yes; it was fair enough," said Ike.
Jim looked at Jack. "That thing didn't hit me with his axe, did he?"
Jack grinned. "No, but I was just a-goin' to when Bill belted you one," was the frank and convincing reply.
Jim got up slowly and faced Bill. "Well, that settles it; it's all right! You're a better man than I am. That's all I've got to say."
He climbed back over the fence and led the way down to dinner without looking back.