ould have seen
some of the operations I have assisted at, and some in which I have been
the sole operator. Why, man--but I won't enter into details. Say! I
guess I've never told you that I am a full-fledged physician and
surgeon, have I? No. Well, I am. Been through my studentship, walked
the hospitals, was chief assistant-surgeon at a big hospital in New York
for nearly a year, took all my degrees--and then chucked it up and took
to travelling and exploration, which was the idea that led me to
qualify. Because, you see, when a man ventures beyond the pale of
civilisation and has to rely absolutely upon himself, a knowledge of
medicine and surgery is a big asset; indeed, had I not possessed such
knowledge I should have pegged out in Central Africa, for it was solely
by its means that I escaped death upon at least half-a-dozen different
occasions. And the same knowledge has enabled me to save the lives of
quite a number of natives. There are a few African tribes with whom I
am regarded as `some' medicine-man, and who would cheerfully have killed
their chief and elected me in his place if I would but have said the
word."

Later on in the evening they went out together to visit their patient,
and found the poor beast manifestly much easier and more comfortable.
He had consumed all the water and a small portion of the food supplied,
but was evidently still partially stupefied by the after effect of the
anaesthetic, and showed no resentment at their approach; he even
submitted to be touched and gently stroked, seeming to be in that numb
and semi-conscious condition in which one cares nothing for whatever may
happen. But the fever of almost unendurable suffering had vanished from
his eyes, and Earle insisted that the poor brute recognised them, and
was in some vague fashion aware that he owed his relief to them. They
brought him more water, which he lapped greedily out of the enamelled
dish, even while Earle held it; and when at length they left him, the
poor brute was tentatively trifling with the remains of the food with
which they had supplied him.

With the coming of dawn on the following morning, the two friends issued
from their tent, eager to enjoy the now rare luxury of a bath; and on
their way they paid another visit to their patient. The brute proved to
be markedly better, although still terribly weak from the long period of
starvation which he had evidently undergone. He revealed his knowledge
of the