"Oh, yes, they know a great deal," said the doctor, shortly, as he busied himself pressing the sides of a little speck of a wound which pierced the boy's skin, now with one nail, now with both at the same time, and making Mark wince. "You are hurting him a good deal," said Sir James. "Do him good," said the doctor, shortly, "and take off the faintness. Now, Buck, I want to make sure," continued the doctor, who from the smattering of knowledge he had obtained from reading was looked up to by everyone present as being master of the situation in the emergency. "What sort of a head had the snake?" "Nasty-looking head, sir! and it kept sticking out its sting with two pyntes to it." "Pooh!" ejaculated the doctor, as he busied himself over the tiny puncture. "But was it a broad spade-shaped head?" "Spade-shaped, sir? What, square? Oh, no, it warn't that." "Bah!" ejaculated the doctor. "I meant spade-shaped--the spade that you see on a pack of cards." "I couldn't be sure, sir. It was so quick, you see. But I should say it was more like a diamond." "Beg pardon, sir," cried Dan; "I think that the place ought to be sucked. I'll do it." "Thanks. Good lad," said the doctor. "You are quite right;" and he gave the little sailor a quick nod as he took the advice himself, held Mark's index finger to his lips, and drew hard at the tiny puncture, trying to draw out any noxious matter that might have been left in the wound, and removing the finger from his lips from time to time to rid his mouth of any poison. "Here, you, Dean," he said, upon one of these occasions, "slip that silk handkerchief from your neck, twist it a little, and now tie it round his arm just above the elbow. That's right--no, no, don't play with it--tie it as tightly as you can--never mind hurting him. I want to stop the circulation." He placed his lips to the wound again and drew hard; then speaking once more-- "Harder. Now, you, Sir James; you are stronger. Tighten the ligature as much as you can. You, Dean, put your hand in my breast-pocket-- pocket-book. Open it and take out a lancet." "There isn't one here, sir." "Bah! No; I remember. Get out your knife, my boy." "There's a lancet in that, sir, you know, and a corkscrew, and tweezers too. Here's the lancet, sir;" and the boy drew out the little tortoiseshell instrument slipped into the handle of the handsome knife which his uncle had presented him with before the start. "Now, then, Mark; I am going to operate." "Very well, sir," said Mark, calmly enough. "You had better take the finger off close down to the joint, for fear the poison has got as far as that." The doctor smiled. "Is it absolutely necessary?" said Sir James anxiously. The doctor gave him a peculiar look which Dean looked upon as horribly grim.