the matter?"

"I don't know; he is very sick, and I am so glad you have come!" added
the poor girl, who appeared to have suffered an age of agony in the
absence of the hunter.

Dan was alarmed, for he had not yet considered even the possibility of
the serious illness of any member of the party; and Lily's announcement
conjured up in his vivid imagination visions of suffering and death. He
was full of sympathy, too, for his companion, to whom he was strongly
attached. With a heart full of painful and terrible forebodings, he
leaped upon the deck of the Isabel, and rushed to the standing room,
where Cyd lay upon the floor. The sufferer had evidently just rolled off
the cushioned seat, and was disposed in the most awkward and
uncomfortable position into which the human form could be distorted.

Dan and Quin immediately raised him tenderly from the floor, and placed
him upon the cushions. This movement seemed to disturb the sufferer, and
he opened his eyes, muttering some incoherent words. At the same time he
threw his arms and legs about in a frightful manner. Dan was quite as
much puzzled and alarmed as Lily had been. He did not know what to do
for him. His experience as a nurse had been very limited, and his
knowledge of human infirmities was extremely deficient.

"What ails him?" asked Lily, whose anxiety for the patient completely
beclouded her beautiful face.

"I don't know," replied Dan, hardly less solicitous for the fate of his
friend. "How long has he been sick?"

"After you went away I was busy in the cabin for two or three hours,
taking care of the dishes and cleaning up the place. When I came on deck
he seemed to act very strangely. I never heard him talk so fast before.
He said he felt sick, and thought he should vomit. He was so weak he
could not walk; when he tried to do so, he staggered and fell. I helped
him upon the seat, and then he seemed to be asleep. I bathed his head
with cold water. When he waked up he was stupid, and I was afraid he
would die before you got back. I didn't know what to do; so I gave him
some brandy."

"How much did you give him?" asked Dan.

"Only about half a tumbler full--as much as you gave Quin when he was
sick. Poor fellow! You don't know how much I have suffered in your
absence."

During this conversation, Quin, who had more skill as a physician and
nurse than his companions, had been carefully examining the patient.

"What do you think of him, Quin?" asked Dan, as