"In a case of this kind, the main thing is to keep the heart action as strong as possible," he explained a moment later, after he had poured a few drops of the dark liquid down the sick man's throat. "But, if one of those darts got him, as I suppose it did, I can't understand why he wasn't dead before. That poison usually acts in less than a minute."
"Look at the back of his hand and you'll understand," Jack said.
"I see," Captain Ole beamed at Jack after a hasty inspection of the hand. "You sucked the poison out, eh?"
"No, Bob did it."
"Well, it doesn't make any difference who did it so long's it was done. It saved his life."
"You think he'll live?" Bob asked anxiously.
The captain again placed his ear over Pat's heart. "Yes, I think so," he told him, as he raised his head. "His heart's getting stronger."
In spite of the fact that Bob had sucked out so much of the poison, Pat had a very close call, but he pulled through, and in a couple of days was none the worse for his experience. It was a long time before he got through thanking Bob for saving his life, and he absolutely refused to listen when Bob tried to make it plain to him that he had taken no risk at all and that it was nothing for which he deserved so much credit.
"Faith an' it's meself as knows thot it didn't make much difference whether me life was saved or not, but thot's not the pint. Suppose fer instance, yer'd had a bit uv a scratch on one uv yer lips or in yer mouth. It'd a bin all day wid yees let me tell yer. An' it's meself as supposes you stopped long enough ter have yer mouth examined ter make sure as how it was all safe and sound, eh."
This was a long speech for Pat to make and he was sweating when he finished.