of their distress.

Gray fell to work promptly. The bottle of cream he had begged from
Ma Briskow he now put to use. With this soothing liquid he first
washed out their eyes, the membranes of which were raw and spongy,
and excruciatingly sensitive to light, then he bandaged them as
best he could with compresses, wet in it.

"You'll breathe easier as time goes on," he announced. "You'll
cough a good deal for a few days, but where you are going that
won't disturb anybody. Your eyes will get well, too, if you take
care of them as I direct. But, meanwhile, let me warn you against
lifting those bandages. Advise me as they dry out and I'll wet
them again."

A blessed relief stole over the unfortunate pair; they were still
sick and weak, but in a short time the acuteness of their
suffering had diminished sufficiently for Gray to help them into
the back seat of his car and resume his journey.

Sarcastically he referred to the sample case on the tonneau floor.
"If those diamonds are in your way, I'll take them in front with
me. If not, I'll ask you to keep an eye on them--or, let us say,
keep a foot on them. If you should be foolish enough to heave them
overboard or try to renew your assault upon me, I would be tempted
to break this milk bottle. In that event, my dear Mallow, you'd go
through life with a tin cup in your hand and a dog on a string."

Tony groaned in abject misery of body and soul. Mallow cursed
feebly.