As he thought of this, he endeavoured to raise the head of the sufferer,
who uttered a sound in so mournful and low a tone that Dick could not at
first understand him, but on bending over him, he caught the single word
"water." Dick looked eagerly round, the shell was empty. He then
bethought him of the fruit he had picked, and cutting one of them in
two, he allowed a few drops of juice to trickle into Lord Reginald's
mouth. This had an almost instantaneous effect. He squeezed out a
larger quantity; some minutes more elapsed, when at length Lord Reginald
became conscious of the relief, and eagerly swallowed the refreshing
juice. Still Dick saw that his chance of recovery, while he remained in
the cave, was very small, and after reflecting awhile he came to the
conclusion that he ought, if possible, to remove him to his own hut.
This would be no easy task, but Dick's arms were strong, and once having
made up his mind, he lost no time in carrying out his intention.
Nep stood by, anxiously watching him, apparently perfectly satisfied
with what he was doing. Lifting the young nobleman up as if he were a
child, he carried him out of the cave, and made his way towards the
fountain, every moment expecting to see his hapless burden breathe his
last. The fountain, however, was reached; then, placing him on the
grass, he poured some of the refreshing fluid down his throat. This
seemed greatly to revive him, and he thanked Dick, sometimes addressing
him as his brother, and sometimes as "Voules."
"You are a better fellow than I took you for," he murmured. "Poor old
Toady! I thought you would have left me to shift for myself; but we
have gone through strange scenes. Didn't you die, and didn't I bury
you? but I'm glad you've come to life again, and I won't have you
laughed at behind your back."
Thus he rambled on, but soon again relapsed into unconsciousness. Dick
had to stop several times to rest himself, but as he was anxious to get
the sufferer within the shelter of his hut, he went on again the moment
he felt able to proceed. Great was his relief when at length he placed
the young lord in his cot. He was aware that he must not venture to
give him meat; indeed, the poor young man could not have swallowed it
had he made the attempt, but he at once mixed him some of the juice of
the fruit with water.
Lord Reginald had swooned from weakness, and from being carried along so
far in the open air. For many hours he lay in a state of stupor. Dick
sat by his side, continually moistening his lips with the juice of the
fruit and water, and bathing the sufferer's hands and temples, while he
anxiously watched for returning life. All night long he sat up, fanning
his brow with the feathers of some of the birds he had killed, and
keeping away the stinging insects which flew into the hut.
The next morning Lord Reginald opened his eyes and exclaimed in a dreamy
tone, "Where am I? What has happened?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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