Part 30 (1/2)
”But what poison?”
”Old Reston's: the two blue pills. Then I shall pitch the bottle of horrible draught overboard. I don't care what becomes of that so long as it sinks to the bottom.”
”Oh, I see plainly enough now,” said Murray.
”And pretty well time, my boy! Wasn't it a capital idea?”
”No,” said Murray bluntly. ”Stupid, I say.”
”Not it, old chap. Don't you see that it is liver medicine?”
”I suppose so.”
”Well, sharks have livers. They fish for them in the Mediterranean, take out the livers, and boil them down to sell for cod liver oil.”
”Then that's a lie,” said Murray. ”Perhaps it's being a lie made you think of it.”
”Why?”
”Because you'll have to tell the doctor a lie when he asks you if you took the medicine.”
”But he won't ask.”
”He will, for certain.”
”How do you know? Did he ever ask you?”
”Well, no,” said Murray thoughtfully; ”I can't say that he did. He never gave me any, only touched me up a bit when I was hurt.”
”Then don't you be so jolly knowing, my fine fellow,” cried Roberts.
”You can't tell if he hasn't doctored you, and I'm quite sure about it, for I know well from nasty experience of his ways that he will not bother one with questions as you think. He gives the fellows physic to take, and just asks them next day how they feel.”
”Well, that's what I say,” cried Murray triumphantly. ”Isn't that just the same?”
”No, not a bit of it. He just asks them how they feel next day; that's all. He takes it for granted that they have swallowed his boluses and draughts. He'll ask me to-morrow how I feel, and I shall tell him I am all right.”
”You'll tell him a lie then. Very honourable, upon my word!”
”Here's a pretty how-de-do, Mr Ultra-particular, with your bully bounce about telling a lie! I shan't do anything of the kind. I shall tell him I'm all right because I am quite well, thank you. Bother him and his horrible old stuff! I know I should be pretty mouldy and out of sorts if I took it. Let him ask the shark how he feels, if he gets the chance, for here it goes. Pudding first, which means pills--there!”
A faint splash followed a movement on the part of the mids.h.i.+pman, and Murray saw the calm sea agitated, and faint flashes of phosph.o.r.escent light appear, while directly after it was as if something made a rush; the depths grew ablaze with pale lambent cold fire, and Roberts gave vent to an e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n expressive of his delight.
”A shark for a s.h.i.+lling,” he cried, ”and a big one too. You see if he doesn't hang about the sloop and show himself in the morning, turning up his eyes on the lookout for whoever it was that tried to poison him.”
”Turning up his eyes!” said Murray. ”Nonsense! If it was as you say the shark would be turning up its white underparts and floating wrong way up.”
”Maybe; but hold hard a minute; it's rather soon to exhibit the other dose, as old Reston calls it. I'm not going to make an exhibition of myself, though, this time, so here goes. You see if Jack Shark doesn't go for the bottle as soon as I throw it overboard. Here goes!”
_Splash_!
”How stupid!” said Roberts. ”I ought to have drawn the cork.”