“What do you mean, rotten! Can’t have been there more than twelve hours!”
“All right.... I can’t say how long he’s been here.... But I know rotten beef when I smell it.... Guess it’s from being in the water! Say, just chuck that piece of canvas down.... We’ll pass it under him and draw up the four corners.... This is no man ... just soup! Easier to spoon him up with a ladle!”
“Damn it, man ... what have you found? Somebody else? Take a squint at him.... We’ve got to get the right man! What’s he got in his pockets?”
“Sticky damn mess! Whew! But here we are! Our man, all right! Yes! Identification card! Other stuff with his name on it! And here’s his revolver! Our man, Sergeant, no doubt of that. How about that rag! Sending it down?”
“When you get him ready, you give the word and we’ll haul up!”
“Righto! One, two, three, and you pull!... Well, I’ll be damned!”
“What’s worrying you now?”
“Why this here corpse! Weighs about an ounce and a half!”
“What’s that? Lord, if he’s as far gone as that.... Say, give a look around! Maybe you’ve left some on the rocks, a leg or an arm, or something!”
“No! Got everything, Sergeant, head and all! All right at the other end?”