Further examination discovered the head of a black sliver, which, after several attempts with a penknife blade and his thumbnail, the Lieutenant succeeded in extracting. The curiosity of the throng, that now packed the room almost to suffocation, found expression in a storm of volubility. The sliver was passed from hand to hand. Curtis thought he detected again and again the syllables, "many, many." He forgot they were speaking Greek.
"Do they say there are others?" he asked.
"No," replied Michali; "they say 'kaiemene,' which means poor fellow!"
"O, tell 'em it's nothing. Just a sliver in my foot. I'll be all right in an hour."
"On the contrary, I regret to say that you a sore foot may have during two or three weeks. It is a spine of the achinoos."
"O, the sea hedgehog. Is it poisonous?"
"Not exactly poisonous, but it will make much irritation. You should have spoken of him immediately, then it would not have been so bad. Did it not hurt very bad?"
"Why, it hurt some, of course, but I thought I had scratched my foot on a stone. I wasn't going to delay the game for a little scratch."
"Well, by Jupiter!" cried Lindbohm, "you Americans have plenty of gravel."
"Plenty of what?"