Presently the sapling snapped, and she fell senseless with a little cry, and as she fell the men with the corpse passed on.
Two minutes afterwards, John Niel, having heard the rumour of his own death on arrival at the camp, and greatly fearing lest it should have reached Jess's ears, cantered up hurriedly, and, dismounting as well as his wound would allow, limped up the garden path.
"Great heavens, Captain Niel!" exclaimed Mrs.Neville, looking up; "why--we thought that you were dead!" "And that is what you have been telling her, I suppose," he said sternly, glancing at the pale and deathlike face; "you might have waited till you were sure.

Poor girl! it must have given her a turn!" and, stooping down, he placed his arms under Jess, and, lifting her with some difficulty, staggered to the house, where he laid her down upon the table and, assisted by Mrs.Neville, began to do all in his power to revive her.

So obstinate was her faint, however, that their efforts were unavailing, and at last Mrs.Neville started for the camp to get some brandy, leaving him to go on rubbing her hands and sprinkling water on her face.
The good lady had not been gone more than two or three minutes when Jess suddenly opened her eyes and sat up, slipping her feet to the ground.
Her eyes fell upon John and dilated with wonder; he thought that she was about to faint again, for even her lips blanched, and she began to shake and tremble all over in the extremity of her agitation.
"Jess, Jess," he said, "for God's sake don't look like that, you frighten me!" "I thought you were--I thought you were----" she said slowly, then suddenly burst into a passion of tears and fell forward upon his breast and lay there sobbing her heart out, her brown curls resting against his face.
It was an awkward and a most moving position.

John was only a man, and the spectacle of this strange woman, to whom he had lately grown so much attached, plunged into intense emotion, awakened, apparently, by anxiety about his fate, stirred him very deeply--as it would have stirred anybody.

Indeed, it struck some chord in him for which he could not quite account, and its echoes charmed and yet frightened him.