“All right,” agreed Doctor Joe. “Let them come, boys.”
“Aye, feel of un and rub the numbness out”
“Aye,” laughed Davy, “we’ll let un come fast as ever you and Pop can lift un.”
And so they were doing well enough, and making quick work of it, until the last barrel came, and the boat was so crowded with cargo that the standing room for Thomas and Doctor Joe was narrow and cramped.
“Have you a good footing there?” asked Doctor Joe, when the barrel was balanced on the end of the jetty and they were ready for the lift.
“’Tis all right,” said Thomas, “let her come.”
And then Thomas slipped, and though Doctor Joe did his best to prevent it, the barrel crashed down upon Thomas’s leg, and when Doctor Joe and David lifted it and released him, Thomas discovered that he could not stand upon the leg.
“She’ll soon be all right,” said Thomas. “She’s just numbed a bit with the weight.”
“Let me feel of it,” suggested Doctor Joe, proceeding to examine the leg.