mother well. However," he broke off hurriedly, "this is not
the moment in which to become reminiscent; your wound is troubling you,
I can see. I will call Fonseca to dress it afresh; meanwhile, be under
no apprehension as to your safety. I will protect you with my own life,
if necessary, although I do not think it will quite come to that."

And, so saying, he left the cabin, to return a few minutes later,
accompanied by the surgeon and his assistant, Francois, the mulatto boy.
With the utmost care on the part of Fonseca, and to the accompaniment
of sundry maledictions in Spanish, muttered under his breath by Ricardo
as I involuntarily winced now and then during the process, my wound was
laid bare and carefully examined. It was by this time terribly inflamed
and horribly painful, and I seemed to gather, from the grave and anxious
look on Fonseca's face, that he regarded it as somewhat serious. He
said nothing, however, but gave it a very thorough fomentation, dressed
it, and carefully bound it up again. This done he administered a
sleeping draught, and left me in charge of Francois, to whom he gave
certain whispered instructions which I could not catch. When he
presently retired, Ricardo followed him out of the cabin, and I saw him
no more that night, for the sleeping draught, though somewhat long in
operating, had its effect at last, and I sank into a feverish, troubled
sleep, in which I was vexed by all sorts of fantastic fancies, in some
of which my mother and the man Ricardo seemed to be associated together
most incongruously. Then there were moments when I seemed to awake to
find Ricardo and Fonseca bending over me anxiously, and others in which
I appeared to be sitting up in my cot and talking the veriest nonsense
to Francois, who, on such occasions, seemed to be entreating me, with
tears in his eyes, to lie down again and remain quiet. Then ensued
further phantasmagoria of the most extravagant description, of which I
subsequently remembered little or nothing save that I seemed to be
consumed with fever, that liquid fire was rushing through my veins
instead of blood, and that I was continually tormented by an
unquenchable thirst.

This state of discomfort endured for ages--apparently; in reality,
however, it lasted only a week, at the end of which period I emerged
from my delirium to find myself comfortably, nay, luxuriously, disposed
upon a large bed in a spacious room overlooking an extensive garden,
go