"Yes, sir-r!"

"In that case you can walk round the world!"

"But...."

"Off with you! Brr! Next man now!"

The next one on the list was De Valpic. I considered his thin body with all the ribs showing.

"What's the matter with you?" Bouchut asked.

"Nothing much, sir, but the captain told me to...."

Bouchut bent down over him:

"Take a deep breath...."

Just then a hubbub arose, an orderly was slating a man who had just upset the bottle containing the tincture of iodine.