"I—I hope not. But send Doctor Barrell here at once."
Doctor Barrell was one of the scientists attached to the expedition. He was a learned man, and Dave felt certain that if anything could be done for his parent, Doctor Barrell could do it.
The cabin boy went off with difficulty, and it was fully ten minutes before he returned with the medical man.
In the meantime, Dave laid his parent on the floor.
By placing his ear to his parent's breast, he found that his father still breathed faintly.
He was just pouring water over the sufferer's face when Doctor Barrell came in.
"What is the trouble?" he asked. "Has he had a tumble? I do not wonder; I have tumbled twice myself."
"No, he has been struck by lightning, doctor. Please do all you can for him."
"Struck by lightning! In here? How?"
"The lightning entered on the electric-light wire and he got the full force of the shock. I was partly stunned myself."