I thought of her then, casting a swift glance back toward the shadows beyond the fence, and then went straight toward where the fellow lay, afraid to learn the truth, yet even more intensely afraid to again meet her without knowing.
He had evidently fallen upon his shoulder, and still lay in a huddled heap.

I had to straighten out his form before I was able to decide whether he was living or dead.

I bent down, undoing his jacket, and placed my ear to his heart.

It beat plainly enough, almost regularly--the man was alive; I doubted if he were even seriously injured.

This discovery was such a relief that I muttered a "Thank God," and began rubbing his chest as though in effort to restore the fellow to consciousness.