Syd Belton Part 52

"Ay, ay, sir!" and the boatswain's fingers were soon busy, while by means of a couple of broad bandages Syd drew the edges of the wound together, and gave the ends of the bands to two men to hold, while first in one place he cleverly thrust a pin through the skin of one side of the wound and out at the other, then holding the lips of the gash together he quickly twisted a fine thread of silk over the pin-head on one side, over the point on the other, and so on, to and fro, till the wound was closed there.

Over this a temporary bandage was secured, and he proceeded to draw the wound edges together in another place in the same way till this was also fast and temporarily bandaged over. The other three pins were similarly utilised, and then broad fresh bandages of linen were wrapped firmly round, the 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 sc.r.a.ped 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 tr.i.m.m.i.n.g and measuring required over the splints before the young surgeon was satisfied, a sensation of shrinking keeping him from beginning what was another crucial task. Fortunately the fractures were simple, and he had no very great difficulty in bringing the broken bones into their proper positions, after which he bandaged and applied the splints, making all fast, a low moan from time to time being all that escaped from the sufferer.

At last. The final bandage was secured, and a horrible weight was removed from Syd's breast, for he knew that he had set the bones rightly even if his surgery was rough, and so far his patient had not sunk under the operation.

"Shall we carry him up yonder now, sir?" said the boatswain, touching his forelock.

"Move him? no," cried Syd. "Rig up something over his head. He must not be touched." Then, turning to Dallas, he went down on one knee and took his hand. "Are you in much pain?" he said.

The poor fellow was conscious, and he looked full in the speaker's eyes; his lips moved, but no sound came, and the horrible feeling of sickness which had first troubled Syd came back, increasing so fast that the lad rose quickly and staggered a few yards.

"Give me something--water--quick!" he muttered; and all was blank.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

When Syd opened his eyes he was lying down, with Roylance kneeling by his side, and a curious feeling of wonderment came over him as to what all this meant.

"What's the matter?" he said, sharply.

"You fainted. Are you better now?"

"Some people do faint at the sight of a drop of blood," said a familiar voice, followed by a sneering laugh.

It was medicine to Syd, and he felt better directly, and sat up.

"Give me my jacket and things," he said; and paying no heed to Terry, who was standing close by the two men who had been placed over him, busily helping with the rough tent they were fitting over the lieutenant, he walked to his patient, to find him lying so pa.s.sive that he shuddered, and wondered whether the poor fellow was dead.

"Did I do wrong?" Syd asked himself. "Would he have got better if I had left him alone?"

He felt his ignorance terribly as he asked himself these questions; but the answer was ready for utterance as Roylance said, looking white as he spoke--

"Oh, Belt, old fellow, what a horrible job to have to do!" And then, "Would he have got right without?"

"No. If he had gone on bleeding from that artery he would by now have been a dead man."

"But how did you learn all that? The lads can do nothing else but talk about it."

"Hush! come away," said Syd. "Let him sleep, and"--he shuddered--"let one of the men bring me a bucket of water."

It was well on in the middle of the day, and there was no sign of the ship. The men had greatly improved the shelter up in the chasm; but though the carriages were up one at each end near the positions they were to occupy, the two guns which should by this time have been mounted lay on the rock, the first one having brought down the tackle, and bounded from a sloping stone on to the unfortunate lieutenant, pinning him to the ground before he could get out of the way.

After seeing that his patient was carefully watched by one of the men who had been his companion that morning, Syd was trying to drive away the miserable feeling of faintness and exhaustion from which he suffered by partaking of a little refreshment, when, just as he was thinking of his father's orders, and that those guns ought to be mounted, the boatswain came up, touched his hat to him and Roylance, and was about to speak, when Terry strode up, and ignoring his brother midshipmen, said sharply--

"Look here, bo'sun; that was all nonsense this morning. Mr Dallas is wounded, and incapable. I am senior officer, and the captain's orders must be carried out. Call the men together, and I'll have those guns up at once."

"Ay, ay, sir!" cried Strake; his whistle sounded shrilly against the sides of the rock, and the men came running up.

"All hands to hoist up the guns," cried Terry. "Now, bo'sun, have that tackle fixed better this time."

"Ay, ay, sir. Now, my lads, be smart, and we'll have that gun up in a jiffy."

The men were all gathered together in a knot, but no one stirred; and they began muttering to themselves.

"Now, my lads; what is it?" cried the boatswain. "You don't mind a bit o' sunshine, do you? Come, bear a hand."

Not a man stirred, and Syd and Roylance exchanged looks.

"What is the meaning of this?" cried Terry, in a bullying tone. "Do you hear, men? I want these guns up directly."

Still no one stirred, and Terry grew pale. His one hand played about his sword, and his other hand sought a pistol.