The girl looked about her again and saw that a short distance ahead the road was bisected by a bridge of planks with willows bordering it at either side. She pulled at the strings which held a blue sunbonnet dangling between her narrow shoulder-blades, regarded the sleazy headgear ruefully, and then spying the cap in the ditch, she deposited her burden gently upon the grass once more and scrambled over to investigate her find.
The cap had an inner lining of something which seemed to be like rubber, and the girl flew off down the road to return with her improvised bowl filled with clear, cold spring water. Dropping on her knees beside the unconscious figure, she poured the contents of the cap over his face and head.
The young man sputtered, gasped, moaned 5a little, and opened astonished brown eyes upon her.
“How–how the devil did you come here?” he asked ungallantly.
“Over the fence.” Her reply was laconic, but it bore an unmistakable hint that further query along that line would be highly unwelcome. “Just you lay still while I git some more water, an’ I’ll tie up that head of yourn.”
The young man’s hand went unsteadily to his aching brow and came away brightly pink, so he decided to take this uncomely vision’s advice, and remained quiescent, wondering how he himself had come to be there, and what had happened to him.
According to the map, he had surely been on the right road, yet it had as assuredly not looked like this one; the other had been a broad, State highway, while this─
He closed his burning eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun, and a confused memory returned to him of that invitingly green, shady pasture which had tempted him as a short cut toward the next village, and of something which thundered down upon 6him from behind and lifted him into chaos. Good Lord, and he had only six days left!
“You’d better take a drink of this first an’ I kin use the rest on your head.” A composed, practical voice advised by his side, and he looked up gratefully into the snub-nosed, freckled face of his benefactress as she held the brimming cap to his lips.
He drank deeply, then struggled to a sitting posture, his face whitening beneath its tan at the sudden wrench of pain which twisted the muscles of his back.