Fortunately it turned out that they had that room to themselves. Oscar marched Tex to a-washbasin and told him to stick his finger down his throat. "Why?" objected Tex.

"Because if you don't, I'll do it for you. Look, Matt-can you take care of him? I’ll be back in a few minutes."

It was nearly twenty minutes before Oscar returned, bearing a carton of hot, black coffee and a tube of pills. He forced the coffee and half a dozen of the pills on the patient. "What are the pills?" Matt wanted to know.-

"Thiamine chloride."

"You seem to know your way around?"

"Well . . ." Oscar wrinkled his brow. "Venus isn't like Earth, you know. Still sort of wild and woolly. You see a lot] of things go on. Drink the rest of the coffee, Tex."

"Yes sir."

"The front of his uniform is all messed up," said Matt

"So I see. I guess we should have undressed him."

"What'll we do? If he goes back like that, there will be questions asked- bad ones."