“Hallo, boys!” he said; “back again?” and without waiting for an answer, he continued, “What have you for dinner to-day, Lee?”
“Potatoes—damper—”
“Hang it all, man! There’s a tin or two of preserved meat. One wasn’t finished.”
“No,” said the doctor; “I looked at it this morning, and it had gone bad.”
“Too bad to eat—for a hungry man?”
“Yes,” said the doctor; “unless he wants to poison himself.”
“This sounds cheerful, Bourne.”
“Horrible! There, it’s of no use to save up,” said the gentleman addressed. “You must give us the last tin of bouillé beef.”
“Gone bad too,” said the doctor gruffly.
“What, have you opened it to see?”