This did not take long, for his injuries were obvious.

The right thigh was broken and badly bruised, and he bled from a contusion upon the forehead.

This wound upon his head seemed also to have affected his brain; at any rate, he was unable to speak coherently or to do more than mutter something about "shipwreck" and "steamer Trondhjem," and to ask for water.
Thinking that at least it could do no harm, Morris gave him a cup of soup, which had been hastily prepared.

Just as the patient finished drinking it, which he did eagerly, the doctor arrived, and after a swift examination administered some anaesthetic, and got to work to set the broken limb.
"It's a bad smash--very bad," he explained to Morris; "something must have fallen on him, I think.

If it had been an inch or two higher, he'd have lost his leg, or his life, or both, as perhaps he will now.