“Head better, my lad?”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Seems clearer, eh?”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Feel feverish?”

“No, uncle, I think not. I’m hardly awake yet.”

“I know, my lad. You got a good deal knocked about, then?”

“I don’t quite know, uncle. I suppose so. It all seems very dreamy now.”

“Consequence of injury to the head. Soldiers are in that condition sometimes after a blow from the butt end of a musket.”

“Are they, uncle?” asked Aleck, who was half ready to believe that this was all part of his dream.