e temporary ones being removed by degrees, and again used in a
better manner, till the horrible wound was properly secured; then as Syd
ceased his efforts, as if moved by one spirit, a hearty English cheer
burst from every one present; and the men whose hands were not occupied
threw their hats in the air.

"Hush! pray!" cried Syd, looking up angrily, as, taking his knife once
more, he cut through the knee-band of the other leg, slit it up in turn,
and then softly drew down the stocking.

Here he paused, and looked anxiously up at his patient, whose pallor was
terrible.

"Keep on moistening his lips with a little spirit-and-water, Roylance,"
he whispered, "or he will not be able to bear the pain."

He was obeyed without a word, and after waiting a few moments the lad,
clumsily enough perhaps, but with a show of some of the skill that he
had seen displayed by Doctor Liss when out with him upon his rounds,
began to make his examination.

The leg was terribly scraped and bruised, but this was not the trouble.
Syd's eyes were sufficiently educated to detect what was wrong, and a
few delicate touches satisfied him.

"Got off a bit there, hasn't he, Master Syd?" whispered the boatswain.

"Got off, Barney? No," said the lad, sadly. "His thigh-bone is broken,
and his leg too, just above the ankle."

"Lor' ha' mussy!" muttered the boatswain, "who'd ha' thought o' that!"

Syd was silent, for he was face to face with another surgical problem.
He wanted splints, bandages, and brown paper, and he had none of these.
What was to be done?

"Two of you take your knives," he said, "and split up the lid of one of
those cases. I want half a dozen strong thin laths of different
widths."

"Ay, ay, sir!" came back; and there was the rending sound of wood heard.

"Now for bandages, Barney. Ah, I see. But I want some linen first to
go next the skin."

"Oh, you can have all the men's, sir, and welcome, I know."

"Yes, poor fellows. But I want some long narrow ones. You must cut
them from one of the sails."

"Ay, ay, sir!"

All worked hard at these preparations, while Syd had the longest lid of
any case they had brought to him, and this, after being covered with a
piece of sail-cloth, was carefully slipped under the broken limb. Then
there was a certain amount of trimming and measuring required over the
splints before the young surgeon was satisfied, a sensation of shrinking
keeping him from beginning what was another c