The young man spoke quite like himself; and his face began to gain in color. He pressed his hand to his head. He laughed a little. "I must have a thick skull of my own," he said. He turned and twisted, and then he rose to a sitting posture. The glove had dropped to the ground. He looked down at it, made a slight motion as if he would take it, then turned away. "I'm sorry I've made such a scene as this," he said. "It's unlucky that you should have happened along here now. You see I should have come to myself all right, and nobody been frightened. Give me a hand, Lee. There! The deuce! I can't do it, though!" Lawrence sank back on the ground, and again lay quiet. Leander could prevent himself from wringing his hands only by remembering that he was a boy. He recalled how in all the stories of adventure he had read the right person always had a bottle of whisky or brandy to produce at the right moment. But he had nothing. He hadn't even a string in his pocket. He "went in" for the lightest possible weight when on his wheel. Thank fortune, there was Prue coming back. She had made good time, even to his anxious mind. The girl's wheel glided up, and she alighted from it as swiftly as a bird would have done. CHAPTER III. "I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION." She bent down over Lawrence, who opened his eyes and looked at her. "Oh!" she said, in a whisper. The thought which sprang swiftly into her mind was the thought of the last time she had seen this man. It was the time when she had told him that she had changed her mind about marrying him, and had decided to marry Lord Maxwell. But later, Lord Maxwell, for financial reasons and under parental influence, had also changed his mind, and had married somebody else. This was in Prudence's thought as she said, "Oh!" in a whisper. "You see I'm not dead," remarked Lawrence, "only devilishly unlucky." Prudence stood up erect. "It quite relieves me to hear you say devilishly," she responded; "cheers my heart, indeed." "But why?" "Because men who are mortally hurt are more pious; if they wanted to say a bad word they would not do it. Thank you." Lawrence smiled. "I could cheer your heart still more," he answered, "for there are a lot of bad words just galloping to be said." Prudence did not reply. She turned to Leander, and asked if Mr. Lawrence had been conversing like this, and had he been shamming when they had first found him. At this Lawrence groaned. After a few moments the boy and woman assisted him to rise. He leaned heavily on them, but seemed to improve somewhat. "I don't think you've done much more than break a few ribs and a collar-bone or so," said the girl, cheerfully. "And p'raps concussed your brain a bit," added Leander, whose spirits were rising rapidly. "There comes the cart," announced Prudence. "It hasn't any springs, but I didn't know but you were past minding springs. I did insist on a mattress being put in; only it isn't a mattress, but a feather bed."