e ground,
senseless--motionless. She sank rather than knelt down beside him, and
called him; but not a token was there that he heard her. She lifted
his hand, it fell powerless, and clasping her own, she sat in an almost
unconscious state of horror, till roused by little Willy, who asked in a
terrified breathless whisper,

"Bee, is he dead?"

"No, no, no," cried she, as if she could frighten away her own fears;
"he is only stunned. He is--he must be alive. He will come to him-self!
Help me to lift him up--here--that is it--his head on my lap--"

"O, the blood!" said Willy, recoiling in increased fear, as he saw it
streaming from one or two cuts and bruises on the side of the face.

"That is not the worst," said Beatrice. "There--hold him toward the
wind." She raised his head, untied his handkerchief, and hung over him;
but there was not a sound, not a breath; his head sank a dead weight
on her knee. She locked her hands together, and gazed wildly round for
help; but no one all over the wide lonely common could be seen, except
Willy, who stood helplessly looking at her.

"Aunt Mary! O, Aunt Mary!" cried she, in a tone of the bitterest anguish
of mind. "Fred--dear, dear Freddy, open your eyes, answer me! Oh, only
speak to me! O what shall I do?"

"Pray to God," whispered Willy.

"You--you--Willy; I can't--it was my doing. O, Aunt Mary!" A few moments
passed in silence, then she exclaimed, "What are we doing here?
Willy, you must go and call them. The Hall is nearest; go through the
plantation as fast as you can. Go to papa in the study; if he is not
there, find grandpapa--any one but Aunt Mary. Mind, Willy, don't let her
hear it, it would kill her. Go, fly! You understand--any one but Aunt
Mary."

Greatly relieved at being sent out of sight of that senseless form,
Willy required no second bidding, but rushed off at a pace which bade
fare to bring him to the Hall in a very brief space. Infinite were the
ramifications of thought that now began to chase each other over the
surface of her mind, as she sat supporting her cousin's head, all clear
and distinct, yet all overshadowed by that agony of suspense which
made her sit as if she was all eye and ear, watching for the slightest
motion, the faintest sound, that hope might seize as a sign of life. She
wiped away the blood which was streaming from the cuts in the face, and
softly laid her trembling hand to seek for some trace of a blow amid the
fair shining hair; she