He had begun to pass his hand over the body of his
patient, when the latter cried impatiently,--
"Sitgreaves, do me the favor to lay that rascally saw aside, or I shall
have recourse to my saber in self-defense; the sight of it makes my
blood cold."
"Captain Lawton, for a man who has so often exposed life and limb, you
are unaccountably afraid of a very useful instrument."
"Heaven keep me from its use," said the trooper, with a shrug.
"You would not despise the lights of science, nor refuse surgical aid,
because this saw might be necessary?"
"I would."
"You would!"
"Yes; you shall never joint me like a quarter of beef, while I have life
to defend myself," cried the resolute dragoon. "But I grow sleepy; are
any of my ribs broken?"
"No."
"Any of my bones?"
"No."
"Tom, I'll thank you for that pitcher." As he ended his draft, he very
deliberately turned his back on his companions, and good-naturedly
cried, "Good night, Mason; good night, Galen."
Captain Lawton entertained a profound respect for the surgical abilities
of his comrade, but he was very skeptical on the subject of
administering internally for the ailings of the human frame. With a full
stomach, a stout heart, and a clear conscience, he often maintained that
a man might bid defiance to the world and its vicissitudes.
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