Jasper, who had been hiding beneath the embankment beside the boy’s supposed lifeless body, had perceived signs of returning animation in it, to which he immediately called the attention of Seth and also Mr Rawlings, and the three were bending over the figure in a moment. Just almost a year before they were bending over Sailor Bill in precisely the same way in the cabin of the Susan Jane. The Indian’s arrow had ploughed under the skin of the boy’s forehead nearly at the same place that bore the scar of his former wound when he had been picked up at sea, and could not have inflicted any dangerous injury; it was evidently the shock of falling into the foaming torrent from the tunnel, as it rushed into the river, that had rendered Sailor Bill senseless for the time being.
He was now coming back to himself, for his limbs twitched convulsively, and there was a faint tremor about the eyelids.
Just then Ernest Wilton came up and stood by the side of Mr Rawlings, while Seth was rubbing the boy’s bared chest vigorously with his brawny hand to hasten the restoration of the circulation; and at that moment Sailor Bill opened his eyes—eyes that were expressionless no longer, but with the light of reason in their hidden intelligence—and fixed his gaze on the young engineer as if he recognised him at once.
“Ernest!” the boy exclaimed wonderingly, “what brings you here? Why, where am I?”
And he looked from one to the other of the group around him in a half-puzzled way, “Jerusalem!” ejaculated Seth, jumping to his feet and turning to the young engineer. “He knows you, mister. Ken you rec’lect him?”
“By Jove!” said Ernest, “I do believe it’s my cousin, Frank Lester, now I hear his voice. Frank!”
“Yes, Ernest,” answered the boy, heaving a sigh of relief. “Then it is you after all. I thought I was dreaming.”
And he sank back into a calm sleep as if he were in bed.