the man must
die if it were not done.

"But you are learned men, hakims, and if you will take me as your
assistant, I will show you how the white doctors take out balls, and,
if there is no other way, cut off limbs; and when I have once shown
you, you will do it far better than I.'

"The two men seemed much pleased. It was evident to them that, if they
could do these things, it would widely add to their reputation.

"'It is good,' they said. 'You shall go round with us, and see the
wounded, and we will see for ourselves what you can do. Will you want
this chest carried?'

"'No,' I said. 'I will take these instruments with me. Should it be
necessary to cut off a limb, to try and save life, I shall need the
knives, the saw, and this instrument, which I heard the white hakim
call a tourniquet, and which they use for stopping the flow of blood,
while they are cutting. There are other instruments, too, that will be
required.'"

Chapter 18: A Hakim.

"I succeeded in getting out two more bullets, and then handed the
instruments to the hakims, saying that I had shown them all I knew, and
would now leave the matter in their hands altogether; or would act as
their assistant, if they wished it. I had no fear that harm would come
of it; for, being so frequently engaged in war, I knew that they had,
in a rough way, considerable skill in the treatment of wounds. I had
impressed upon them, while probing the wounds, that no force must be
used, and that the sole object was to find the exact course the ball
had taken.

"As to the amputations, they would probably not be attempted. A
fighting Dervish would rather die than lose a limb; and, were he to die
under an operation, his relatives would accuse the operator of having
killed him.

"I remained at work with them, for two or three days. In nearly half
the cases, they failed to find the course of the ball; but when they
did so, and the wound was not too deep, they generally succeeded in
extracting it. They were highly pleased, and I took great pains to
remain well in the background.

"They were very friendly with me. Their fees were mostly horses, or
carpets, or other articles, in accordance with the means of the
patients; and of these they gave me a portion, together with some
money, which had been looted from the chests carrying silver, for the
purchase of provisions and the payment of troops. Although they made a
pretence of begging me to remain always with them, I