"Intellectually, not morally. Come on. We are not going to argue. We are going to work. We've got to bury that bearer. Where's the spade?"
They dug a grave for Kukwo, and buried him, and heaped a cairn of stones from the wall on top of him. It was burning midday when they had finished. They had leisure then to think again of the loss of their atoxyl.
"We may not have any at all?" said Roger. Lionel produced a small screw-top bottle from his pocket. It had once contained tabloids of anti-pyrin. It was now about half full of a white powder.
"I've a few doses here," he said. He looked at it carefully. "With luck," he said, "we could cure two or three cases with this."
"But suppose you have a relapse yourself, Lionel? You must keep some, in case you should relapse."
"I shan't relapse," he said carelessly. "Relapses aren't common."
"But you might. And you are more important than a village-full of negroes. More important than all the blacks put together and multiplied by ten."
"I don't see it. Look here. I tell you one thing which is pretty plain to me. We've got to set to work to find an anti-toxin. First, though, we'll go down and grope in the mud for anything which may be left. I don't give up hope of finding some atoxyl even now."
They told each other as they went that they didn't expect to find anything. Really their hearts beat high with expectation. They were sure of finding what they sought.
They went down to the mud so sure that their disappointment almost unmanned them. For they were disappointed. An hour of broiling work only added two cartridges to their store. Out in the river, caught in a snag with other drift, they saw a floating packing-case, marked with a blue stencil. By the manner of its floating they judged it to be empty, or nearly empty. It had probably floated off shortly after being opened. It had been caught in a snag. It had then ducked and sidled to get away. Lastly, it had turned upside down and emptied its contents into the river. So they judged the tragedy, viewing the victim through their glasses, from a distance of a hundred yards.