d of a quarter of an
hour, Ryan, who had been giving Almansa all the news in the interval,
appeared and asked him to come below and see the chief officer. He led
the way below, and entering the officer's cabin, said--

"Here is the gentleman from the shore, Mr. Almanza. Let him see your
hurt."

The leader of the mutineers was evidently in great pain, and feverish as
well, and Frewen in a few seconds found by examination that a splinter
of the fractured bone had been driven into the muscles of the shoulder,
where it seemed to be firmly embedded, although one end of it could
almost be felt by gentle pressure, so close was it under the skin. The
bullet itself had come out at the side of the neck.

Telling them that, although he was no doctor, he was sure that it was
most important that the splinter of bone should be removed, he offered
to attempt it. The fractured collar-bone, he assured them, would knit of
itself if the patient kept quiet.

In those days the medicine chests of even fine ships like the
_Esmeralda_ were but poorly equipped, when contrasted with those to
be found on much smaller vessels thirty years later, when antiseptic
surgery and anaesthetics were beginning to be understood. But Almanza,
who was in agony, begged the visitor to do what he could; and without
further hesitation, Frewen took from the medicine chest what he
considered was the most suitable knife, made an incision, and in less
than five minutes had the splintered piece of bone out. Then came the
agonising but effective sailor's styptic--cotton wool soaked in Friar's
Balsam.

Almanza tried to murmur his thanks, but feinted, and when he came
to again, he found himself much freer from pain, and the poor negro
steward's successor standing beside him with a tumbler of wine and
water.

"You must keep very quiet," said Frewen, as he turned to leave the
room, speaking coldly, for although he was very sympathetic with any one
suffering pain, he could not but remember what the man before him had
done.

Returning on deck, he found Foster and Ryan talking on the poop, whilst
the crew of Chilenos were sitting about on the hatches eating pineapples
and bananas, and drinking coconuts. Even a non-seafaring man would have
thought that there was a lack of discipline displayed, but Frewen, whose
life had been spent on whaleships where the slightest liberty on the
part of foc'sle hands towards the after-guard meets with swift and stern
punishment, felt