"A stowaway on board the 'Westward Ho!'" said the doctor, as he entered the hold; "I should sooner have expected to find one on board a man-of-war."
"Examine him, please, doctor," said Harkaway anxiously, "and let us know how he is."
The doctor made no reply, but proceeded without any fuss or demonstration to feel the sick man's pulse.
"Very low," he said; "in a bad way. We must get him up out of this place, for it is enough to choke a black."
He was tended as carefully as if he had been one of their best friends, instead of the bitterest, the most treacherous of their enemies; and, strange to relate, Jack Harkaway appeared not a little concerned about the villain's welfare.
"Do you think that there is any danger?" he asked.
"Immediate, do you mean, sir?" said the doctor.
"Yes."
"Humph! I can scarcely say. Not exactly immediate, perhaps, if care be taken."
"You think he will live?"