He had not, however, given up his habit of grumbling, and
his messmates were so accustomed to his taking a somber view of
everything that his prognostication as to the nature of their work
up the river had but little effect upon them.
"What do you think, Sandy?" Harry Parkhurst asked the Scotch
assistant surgeon.
"I know nothing about it, except what I have read. They say that
the country is healthy; but it stands to reason that this cannot
be so while you have got rivers with swamps and jungles and such
heat as this. However, we have a good supply of quinine on board,
and with that and our allowance of spirits, I hope that we shan't,
as Morrison says, have half the ship's company down with the fever.
It is all in our favor that we have only just come out, for they
say that newcomers can resist the effects of these tropical rivers
much better than those whose constitution has been weakened by
a residence in the country. As to the sport, I have no desire to
kill any animal that does not meddle with me. My business is all
the other way, and if any of you get mauled, I will do my best to
help the doctor to pull you through; but I am very well on board
the ship, and have no desire to go tramping about among the swamps,
whether it be to hunt animals or fight Malays.
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