s the day before yesterday zat it happened."

"God bless me! I must have been insensible ever since. That means
concussion of the brain. Am I much damaged otherwise, do you know?"

"Pretty well. Your left shoulder is dislocated, one of your fingers and
two of your ribs broken, and one of your ankles severely contused. But it
might have been worse. If you had not thrown yourself from your horse, as
you did, you would just now be in a coffin instead of in this comfortable
bed."

"Somebody saw me, then?"

"Yes, the lodge-keeper. He thought you were dead, and came up and told us;
and we brought you here on a stretcher, and the Senor Coronel sent for a
doctor--"

"The Senor Coronel! Do you mean Mr. Fortescue?"

"Yes, sir, I mean Mr. Fortescue."

"Then you are Ramon?"

"_Hijo de Dios!_ You know my name."

"Yes, you are Mr. Fortescue's body-servant."

"Caramba! Somebody must have told you."

"You might have made a worse guess, Senor Ramon. Will you please tell Mr.
Fortescue that I thank him with all my heart for his great kindness, and
that I will not trespass on it more than I can possibly help. As soon as I
can be moved I shall go to my own place."

"That will not be for a long time, and I do not think the Senor Coronel
would like--But when he returns he will see you, and then you can tell him
yourself."

"He is away from home, then?"

"The Senor Coronel has gone to London. He will be back to-morrow."

"Well, if I cannot thank him to-day, I can thank you. You are my nurse,
are you not?"

"A little--Geist and I, and Mees Tomleenson, we relieve each other. But
those two don't know much about wounds."

"And you do, I suppose?"

"_Hijo de Dios!_ Do I know much about wounds? I have nursed men who have
been cut to pieces. I have been cut to pieces myself. Look!"

And with that Ramon pointed to his neck, which was seamed all the way down
with a tremendous scar; then to his left hand, which was minus two
fingers; next to one of his arms, which appeared to have been plowed from
wrist to elbow with a bullet; and lastly to his head, which was almost
covered with cicatrices, great and small.

"And I have many more marks in other parts of my body, which it would not
be convenient to show you just now," he said, quietly.

"You are an old soldier, then, Ramon?"

"Very. And now I will light myself a cigarette, and you will no more talk.
As an old soldier, I know that it is bad for a _caballero_ with a broken
hea