n av 'em
been comin' aboard for a nip av grog? There ye go thinkin' wrong again,
Jeb; ye make me lose me timper! Haven't we been sailin' right along in a
sea as smooth as a lass's cheek, now comin' sivin days? W'y, me b'y,
even this ould tub's too fast for 'em!" Tim yawned and rolled over on
the deck, where they had been sitting with their backs against a
partition wall that, in former days of German ownership, had inclosed
the "gesellschafthalle." He searched again through his pockets, and
yawned once more, saying: "Shure, an' 'tis a long time gittin' back wid
the b'ys! But don't ye worry over w'ot's ahead--wait till it comes clost
enough for ye to grab it. Most ivery trouble, lad, dies 'asy whin ye git
yer teeth in good, an' shake it wanst or twict! Give me a bit av the
makin's, Jeb; I left me own below!"

Jeb passed over his pouch and papers, then watched the sergeant roll a
cigarette, light it, and give the match an outward flip. Taking a few
deep inhalations he eyed Jeb back, and said thoughtfully:

"Lad, I don't want ye to take this wrong, but I've a mind to be askin'
if ye have less courage than a gir-rl--a _lady_ gir-rl, w'ot's been
raised in silver an' gold an' soft pilleys! I want ye to keep thot in
mind whilst I tell ye a story; 'tis a story av me own wound, whin I got
me 'packet' for Blighty--an' av a nurse w'ot had jist come out from the
States, an' av a Frinch doctor w'ot's the king av all men, so help me!
'Twas 'im as brought me in off No Man's Land, where I was bleedin' me
life away! He come right out through a rain av fire thot would have
curled yer hair into little kinks av wire--for his stretcher bearers had
been sore shot up thot day, an' he was doin' ivery kind av wur-rk at
wanst. But, to git along: Whin I opened me eyes in the dressin' station
dug-out I scarce knowed if I was alive or dead--so weak did I feel. He
was standin' near, shakin' his head at a purty nurse, an' sayin': 'We
got to lose 'im, for he's lost too much blood! If we had anny to
transfuse,' he says, 'we'd pull 'im through, but thot's impossible,' he
says, 'for me b'ys have bled too much a-ready,' he says."

Tim took another inhalation, and slowly continued:

"I was too weak to say me prayers--not thot I wasn't in need av thim!
The nurse was lookin' up at 'im wid big, wonderin' eyes, an' her breast
was heavin'. 'Will thot save 'im?' she asks. ''Tis the only thing,' he
answers, sorrowful. 'Thin save 'im,' she says, rollin' up her