The hospital man showed his face at the grating, looking at Sam Truax keenly for a moment.
"Wow!" he ejaculated.
"Looks fearful bad, don't he?" demanded the marine, also peering in.
"What do you think it is?"
"I ain't quite sure," answered the hospital man. "But one thing I do know. The sawbones officer has got to have a look at this chap."
Sam Truax sprang to his feet, pacing up and down within the confines of the brig.
"What are they all talking about?" he asked himself, in a buzz of excitement. "Five minutes ago I felt well enough. Now—well, I certainly do feel queerish."
Barely three minutes more passed when Doctor McCrea hurried below, bustling along to the door of the brig. He, in turn, shot a keen look at Truax through the bars, then commanded:
"Sentry, unlock the door! Let me in there!"
In another moment Doctor McCrea was feeling the prisoner's pulse.
"How long have you been feeling out of sorts?" asked the medical man, briefly.