"How many shots did he fire into the cave?"
"I wasn't counting. Maybe twenty."
A doctor came into the room. Marion stood up. "What's the score, Dan?"
The doctor looked at us disapprovingly. It was as though we were responsible for what had happened to Ruth.
"I think I can say that physically she'll be all right She's young and she has a good body. She might mend quite rapidly. It's hard to say. It will depend on her mental condition. I can't answer for that. I've seldom seen anyone handled more brutally. I can give you a list. Dislocated thumb. Broken shoulder. Two cracked ribs. A cracked pelvis. She was criminally attacked. Two broken toes. We nearly missed those. She was beaten about the face. That wouldn't have killed her. It was the shock and exposure that nearly did it, came awfully close to doing it. She's been treated for shock. She's out of her head. She doesn't know where she is. We just put her to sleep. I say, I can't estimate mental damage."
I stood up. "Where is she?"
The doctor stared at me. "I can't let you see her. There's no point in seeing her."
I moved closer to him. "I want to see her."
He stared at me and then took my wrist, put his finger tips on my pulse. He took a pencil flashlight out of his pocket and shone it directly into my eye from a few inches away.
He turned to the captain. "This man should be in bed."