he best
way of getting to Broadstone, Priory Valley. He still fought bravely
against the feeling of lassitude and nausea which oppressed him, and
went down to his lunch with a bold front, although the place seemed
floating around him. But in vain did the odour of the Wallaby soup
ascend to his nostrils; in vain was the roast fowl spread before him.
He scarcely tasted the viands which the attentive waiter continued to
press upon him; and at last, pushing his plate away, he rose from the
table.

"I shall want writing materials and some labels on my return," he said,
as he left the room with a somewhat unsteady step.

"On the razzle-dazzle last night, I expect," said the waiter, with a
wink at his fellow.

The fresh air seemed to relieve Cardo, in some degree, of the weight
which dragged him down; he was even well enough to notice that the
uneven streets were more like those of an old-fashioned English town
than anything he had expected to find in Australia. But this feeling
of relief did not last long. In the street which led down to the quay
he observed a chemist's shop, and, entering it, asked for a "draught or
pick-me-up" of some kind.

"I feel awfully seedy," he said, sinking into a chair.

"Yes, you look it," said the chemist; "what's wrong?"

"I think I must give in," said Cardo, "for I believe I am sickening for
typhoid fever."

The chemist looked grave.

"I advise you to go home at once, and to bed."

"Yes," replied Cardo, trying to rise to the emergency, and still
manfully struggling against the disease which threatened him. "Yes, I
will go home," he said again, walking out of the shop. He took the
wrong turning however, going down towards the harbour, instead of
returning to the hotel, and he was soon walking under a burning sun
amongst the piled-up bales and packages on the edge of the quay. A
heavy weight seemed to press on his head, and a red mist hung over
everything as he walked blindly on. At a point which he had just
reached, a heap of rough boxes obstructed his path, and at that moment
a huge crank swung its iron arm over the edge of the dock, a heavy
weight was hanging from it, and exactly as Cardo passed, it came with a
horizontal movement against the back of his head with terrible force,
throwing him forward insensible on the ground. The high pile of boxes
had hidden the accident from the crowd of loungers and pedestrians who
might otherwise have noticed the fall. The sudden lurc