of other
people, in the large tent-like structure which the ward-room officers
had used on the preceding evening; and Hutchinson, the ship's surgeon,
was busily engaged in attending to the hurts of a seaman who lay not far
from me.

This was the first general impression that I gained of my surroundings
with the recovery of consciousness; the next was that my left arm, which
was throbbing and burning with a dull, aching pain from wrist to
shoulder, was firmly bound up and strapped tightly to my body, and that
my head, which also ached most abominably, was likewise swathed in
bandages. I was parched with thirst, which was increased by the sound
of a man drinking eagerly at no great distance from me, and, turning my
head painfully in the direction of the sound, I saw Jack Keene, a
fellow-mid., administering drink out of a tin pannikin to a man whom I
presently recognised as Nugent, the master's mate, who, poor fellow,
seemed to be pretty near his last gasp.

"Jack," I called feebly, "you might bring me a drink presently, when you
have finished with Nugent, will you? How are you feeling, Nugent? Not
very badly hurt, I hope."

I saw Nugent's lips move, as though attempting to answer me, but no
sound came from them, while Keene, glancing towards me, shook his head
and laid his finger upon his lips as a sign, I took it, that I should
not attempt to engage the poor fellow in conversation.

"All right, Fortescue," he said, in a low voice, "I'll attend to you in
a brace of shakes."

He laid Nugent's head very gently back upon a jacket which had been
folded to serve as a pillow, and then, refilling the pannikin from a
bucket which stood close at hand, he came to me.

"Feeling bad, old chap?" he asked, as he raised my head and placed the
pannikin to my lips. I emptied the pannikin before attempting to reply,
and then said--

"Not so bad but that I might easily be a jolly sight worse. Bring me
another drink, Jack, there's a good boy; that was like nectar."

"Ah; glad you enjoyed it," was the reply. "But you'll have to wait a
spell for your next drink; Hutchinson's orders to me are that water is
to be administered to you fellows very sparingly, as it is drawn from
the river and is probably none too wholesome. What are your hurts?"

"Broken arm and a cracked skull, so far as I know," I answered. "What's
the matter with poor Nugent?" I added, in a whisper. "He looks as
though he is about to slip his cable."

Jac