With that his common-sense awoke and he looked about him.

He was almost two miles from town; the nearest house was the Briscoes' far down the road.

He knew the rain would come now.
There was a big oak near him at the roadside.

He stepped under its sheltering branches and leaned against the great trunk, wiping the perspiration and dust from his face.

A moment of stunned quiet had succeeded the peal of thunder.