"No—no—the—light hurts my eyes," was the hasty reply. "I guess I'll go to bed, so as to be all ready to start in the morning. Why don't you leave for the moon to-night, professor?"
"There are still a few little details to look after. But are you sure you are well enough to go with us? We may meet with hardships up on the moon."
"Oh, I'm all ready to go," was the answer. "I'd start to-night if I could. But now I must get to bed."
"Don't you want supper?" asked Jack.
"No, I had some just before I left the hospital."
"What hospital was it?" inquired Andy Sudds. "I was in one once, and I didn't like it. There wa'nt enough air for me."
"I forget the name of the place," came the reply. "I can't think clearly. I need sleep."
The newcomer kept in the shadows of the room, as if the light hurt his eyes, and appeared restless and ill at ease. With the hand that was not in a sling he pulled the bandages closer about his face.
"Can't you tell us more about what happened?" asked Jack, for Mark was not usually so reticent, and his chum noticed it.
"There isn't much to tell," was the response. "I went to the old house, and I was looking around when I happened to tumble down stairs. I must have been knocked unconscious, but when I came to I crawled outside. A farmer was driving past, and I asked him to take me to a hospital."