He was going to get up, shave and dress before the ship’s doctor had a chance to forbid him. He was tired of lying in a berth. Most of all, he was anxious to see for himself if Mercedes and the others were really getting over the effects of the poison gas.
There were some difficulties to be met, of course. In the first place, his head was still woozy, and the deck heaved up and down as if in heavy weather. In the second place, someone had taken away his torn and muddy uniform. If he could get to the locker in the corner, though, he might find something to put on.
Groping his way along the bulkhead, Don reached the locker and jerked open the door. There, as he had hoped, hung an officer’s spare uniform, along with a dress sword, weapon belt and other equipment. A drawer beneath contained underwear, shaving kit, and towels.
The set-up was complete, including a hot water tap in another corner of the cabin. If only Red didn’t wake up, or the doctor come in before he was dressed....
Fifteen minutes later Don was buttoning up his borrowed tunic, when a sudden yell and a thump spun him around in alarm.
“Sufferin’ sea serpents!” gurgled the voice of Red Pennington.
More muffled groans, grunts and howls for help issued from the tangle of bedclothes under Red’s berth. Don came to the rescue, laughing so hard that he almost lost his footing.
“Boy! You sure hit the deck in a hurry!” he chuckled, unwinding a sheet from around his stocky friend’s neck. “What were you dreaming about, anyway, to make you yell like that?”
“A-argh! Umph!” groaned Red, feeling of his chafed neck. “It’s no laughing matter, if you want to know it! I dreamed the Scorpion’s men were hanging me to the yardarm, and you came along just in time to cut me down. What if it was only a sheet instead of a rope? That dream was real enough!”
“It probably was,” agreed Don Winslow, his grin fading. “I had nightmares aplenty myself. It must be the effects of that poison wearing off. You’ll feel better if you get up and shave, Red. Unfortunately, I have on the only uniform in the cabin....”