It burst on the ground behind him, on his right, a little to one side.
Some of it must have struck the steering gear.
The car plunged to the left. It climbed reeling to the top of a bank and paused there, then fell, front over back, into the ditch and lay there, belly uppermost, and its wheels whirling in the air.
Jevons lay on his face, half in, half out of the ditch.
He lay for about three seconds; then, as we ran to him, we saw him raise himself on his left arm and crawl out of the ditch; and when we reached him he was trying to stand.
And he tried to smile at us. "You needn't look like that," he said. "I'm as right as rain." And then he tried to raise his right arm.
You saw a khaki cuff, horribly stained. A red rag hung from it, a fringe that dripped.
* * * * *
Reggie opened his eyes and turned his face towards the stretcher that slid into its grooves beside him.
"That isn't—Jimmy—is it?" he said.
I saw him move his left hand to find Jimmy's right. And I heard Jimmy saying again (in a weak voice this time) that he was as right as rain.