“What day?”

“Saturday.”

“When—” I hesitated. I was afraid.

“Well?” he asked, quietly.

“When was I hurt? Many days ago—many weeks?”

“You were hurt at half-past three this afternoon.”

I tried to comprehend; I could not, and after a while I gave up my feeble grasp on time.

“What is that roaring sound?” I asked. “Not drums? Not my lions?”

“It is the sea.”

“So near?”