searched the pockets of his helpless patient. He did not find much,
however, only a few letters and picture postcards until he came to a
deep trouser pocket from which he drew a big German pipe.

"Not a bad souvenir," he said, as he put it into his own pocket and
returned to his stool. Of course this was not stealing, it was merely
"scrounging" or "pinching" or "collecting souvenirs," which is an
entirely different thing.

For a time the surgeons worked silently, amputating arms and legs,
holding the bare skin between two fingers and cutting the flesh,
throwing bleeding bits on to the floor, dressing and bandaging stumps
and excised wounds.

Captain Calthrop was grumbling at the tedium of the work when his
anæsthetist lit upon a happy thought and said:

"How'd you like to try your hand at giving an anæsthetic? I'll have a
shot at surgery--I've never done it before. I'd like to see if I'm any
good at it."

"Right you are," replied Captain Calthrop, "we'll change over."

"Jolly good idea," added Captain Wycherley at the next table, "we'll
change over too."

"Right-o," said his anæsthetist.

And so the two anæsthetists operated and the two surgeons gave
anæsthetics. It was, perhaps, rather a dangerous thing to do, but as the