"I cannot tell yet, Mr. Somers. Three of the ribs are fractured, but if he is not injured internally, he will do very well," added the surgeon, to Mr. Hackleford.
"I have but little pain," said the patient.
"You will have more, Mr. Somers, by night," continued Dr. De Plesion. "I do not discover any internal injury."
"I hope there is none," said the first lieutenant. "You are too good an officer to be spared, Mr. Somers,—I mean for even a brief period, of course."
The report of the surgeon was anxiously awaited by the captain and all the ward-room officers, for the third lieutenant had been a universal favorite, and his capture of the Ben Lomond, and his gallant conduct during the action with the forts and the Tennessee, had not diminished his popularity. Of all who waited the doctor's decision, none took the matter so much to heart as the boatswain, who had saved him from drowning while he was helpless in the water. Mr. Hackleford noticed him at his duty, still wet to the skin, and kindly gave him permission to visit his young friend.
"I shall not go by the board, Tom," said Somers. "You and I may yet make another cruise together."
"Thank God! I hope so," exclaimed the boatswain, encouraged by these cheerful words.
"Tom, I owe my life to you."
"O, never mind that, my darling! What would I have done if you had slipped your wind?"
"You would have done your duty, as you always do, my good fellow."