as though it were being held much too close to a fierce fire,"
I replied, "and, in addition, it is aching most atrociously. It is most
unfortunate that--"

"Yes, it is indeed, you poor boy!" replied Mrs Vansittart as I paused,
a feeling of deadly nausea sweeping over me. "Ah," she continued, as
the chief stewardess appeared with a tumbler in her hand, "here is the
brandy! Sip this, Walter; it will revive you. And as soon as you are
able to move, we must get you below, and I must attend to your head and
dress it properly. Then you must go to bed and endeavour to get some
sleep. You have taken splendid care of us this morning, and now it will
be our turn to take care of you."

"Oh, thank you very much!" I murmured; "but I hope this unlucky blow on
the head is not going to make me a nuisance to you. As to turning in, I
simply cannot do it. A careful watch must be maintained for several
hours yet, lest some of the men from that junk should swim to the wreck
and get aboard us. Even so few as half a dozen able-bodied Chinamen
could make a lot of trouble for us just now."

"Yes," agreed Julius, "they could. But I guess I'm not going to give
them the chance. You'll just have to turn in, as Momma says, and leave
me to look after things. And, see here, Mr Leigh, don't you worry
about anything. I'll keep a look-out, and if any swimming Chinks come
meandering around here, I'll just give 'em socks, you bet!"

This was reassuring; for if the boy was willing to undertake the duty he
could quite easily keep a considerable number of swimmers at a distance
with the assistance of a Remington. A few sips of brandy served to
restore my strength greatly; and presently, with the help of Mrs
Vansittart and Lizette, I was able to make my way below to the
drawing-room. There I passed a particularly unpleasant three-quarters
of an hour while the lady skipper snipped most of my hair off and
afterwards coaxed the lacerated scalp back into place, securing it in
position with straps of sticking plaster and finishing off by a dressing
of healing ointment and bandages.

When all was done, the two stewardesses helped me to my own cabin; and
after they had left me I somehow managed to undress and get into my
bunk, which I was glad enough to do, for I was beginning to feel
distinctly ill. I have a hazy recollection that after I had been in my
bunk a little while, Mrs Vansittart came to me and administered a dose
of medicine, which sh