“No!” he called out, raising his hand in protest.  “Put your money back.  You will have this with me.  I extended the invitation and I certainly intend to pay for it!”

If any man had called for cheers for the doctor I think we should have brought the house down about our ears.  But we were so dumbfounded at this first expression of a “white man’s” action which we had encountered in Germany, that we could not utter a sound.  We merely sat like a party of expectant school-children at a Sunday school treat.

The doctor busied himself seeing that each man received an adequate quantity of refreshment, and that it was according to his fancy.  I myself being an abstainer, declined the beverage which was popular and which was being keenly enjoyed.  Observing that I was drinking nothing he hurried over.

“Where’s your beer?”

“Sorry, doctor, but I do not take alcohol!”

Without a word he swung on his heel, hailed the landlord, and enquired for some home-made lemonade.  Boniface was sorry but he was unable to oblige.  But the doctor was not to be put off.  He curtly ordered the landlord to prepare some instantly and what is more to the point he followed him to see that it was brewed correctly.

After the meal he insisted that we should take a brief rest to assist its digestion, which, owing to the weakened condition of our organs, was no easy matter.  Then, when we all felt fit, we returned to the traction engine.  You can imagine how we clustered round the doctor thanking him for his kindness, but he would not listen to our expressions of gratitude.  Laughing good-naturedly, he maintained that he had done nothing beyond what he considered to be his duty, and as we shouldered the ropes once more, he gave us a parting cheer.

That meal put new life into us, and we towed the load with such gusto that we covered the second lap of the distance in fine style.  When we reached the camp and were dismissed, the incident about the doctor’s munificence flashed through to its four corners like lightning.  It became the one topic of spirited conversation.  We had always voted the doctor a jolly good fellow, but now he was the hero of the hour.  When he next came into the camp he received such a thundering and spontaneous ovation as to startle him, until at last the reason for this outburst dawned upon him.  But he turned it off with his characteristic laugh and joke.

The privations which I had been suffering now began to assert their ill effects.  I felt I was breaking up rapidly, and in this every one concurred and grew anxious.  The doctor took me in hand, placed me on a “pass” and at last ordered me to lie down in the barrack.  Two of my companions, Ca——­, a breezy Irishman who had been arrested while on his honey-moon, and K——­, undertook to look after me.  As the night advanced I rapidly grew worse, until eventually my illness assumed such a turn, so I was informed afterwards, as to cause my two friends the greatest alarm.  Ca——­ went out to the guard with a message addressed to Dr. Ascher, explaining that Mahoney was very much worse and they feared his condition was critical.  By some means or other the message was got through to the doctor, possibly by telephone.