"They will be seen to. The man you saw with me arrived last night. He is the new doctor appointed by headquarters." "Ah, then I would be glad to have him strap up my shoulder." "You are wounded? Yes, I remember, Madame mentioned it." "A bullet went through it in the _mêlée_, but I don't think any great damage is done. It was a narrow defile----" "Don't tell me anything about it," Sokolof held up his hand. "Tschak and the rest will no doubt have quite enough to say about it. A good deal will depend on what they say. I will send Irbatsky in to look at your shoulder. And, remember, the less said the better." "Will you as a favour allow me to nurse Palma to the end? It cannot be far off. You can understand--I feel as if I had used him ill, though God knows, I never intended to do so." "I will see what Irbatsky says. I am a bit suspicious of him and must walk warily. Perhaps he will be glad of your help with the wounded. He is a drinker, unless I'm mistaken, which is perhaps the reason for his coming here. I will see you later." And presently Dr. Irbatsky came in, and Pavlof bared his wound, and the doctor washed and strapped it, talking meanwhile of the fight. "Ach, so you were fighting, too, Mr. Palma? Bad job, bad job! And no good came of it after all." "I saw my friend fall, and went to help him," said Paul. "It was then that I got hit. How do you find him, Doctor?" "Bad, very bad. It is a wonder he got back here alive." "He can't last long?" "Not many hours. Might die any minute." "I would be grateful for your permission to sit by him till he goes. Can I help with the others also? I am ready to be of use." "Da! I see no objection, if Captain Sokolof does not. But you are pretty well done up yourself and have lost blood. You can hardly keep your eyes open." "I shall keep them open longer than he will." "That's so. Well, come along. Captain Sokolof is with the prisoner now, but I doubt if he'll get anything out of him." They crossed the enclosure and entered the hospital, and found Sokolof standing beside the bed on which Palma had been laid. "Will he come to before he goes, Doctor?" asked Sokolof. "He may, at the last. Or he may just drift out like that. He has no right to be here alive after what he's gone through." "You can wait by him, Mr. Palma," said the captain. "I will leave you an orderly. If he shows signs of consciousness send for me instantly. It is of importance." Pavlof bowed and sat down by the bed, and Sokolof and the doctor went out. Serge breathed so slightly and softly that Paul doubted at times if he breathed at all, and more than once he had to bend close over him to make sure. He sat for a couple of hours in the dim light of the tiny lamp, and found it hard to keep his eyes open, as the doctor had said. Then, suddenly, Palma made a slight uneasy movement, and Paul bade the orderly fetch Captain Sokolof. The captain was there almost immediately.