stump while the saw grated harshly as it cut through the bone, and the
man moaned in piteous drawling tones: "Jesus Christ have mercy upon me,
God Almighty have mercy upon me, and forgive me _all_ my sins." When
the operation was over, he was carried out, making unintelligible
sounds.

He was followed by a man from whose chest I removed a filthy,
blood-sodden mass of padding. I observed that his breathing was becoming
weaker and weaker. The anæsthetist shouted:

"Fetch the oxygen--look sharp!"

An orderly brought a long black cylinder along, but the rubber tubing
was knotted in a bundle and several seconds passed before it could be
disentangled. At last the end of the tube was pushed into the mouth of
the dying man. The tap of the cylinder was turned on, but there was no
sound of gas running through. The anæsthetist glared angrily around and
shouted: "Corporal Chamberlain!"

The Corporal came and the anæsthetist thundered:

"Go and get a new cylinder--this one's empty--your damned carelessness
again--look sharp about it."

It was the Corporal's business to see that the cylinder in the theatre
was always full. He fumbled in his pockets for the key to the cupboard
in which the reserve cylinders were kept, but he could not find it. He
walked out and searched in the shed opposite the theatre. He came back
without it.