He told me that he had cleansed and sewn up Stephen's wound, which
appeared to be doing well, although the spear had pierced right
through the shoulder, luckily without cutting any artery. So I went in
to see the patient and found him cheerful enough, though weak from
weariness and loss of blood, with Miss Hope feeding him with broth
from a wooden native spoon. I didn't stop very long, especially after
he got on to the subject of the lost orchid, about which he began to
show signs of excitement. This I allayed as well as I could by telling
him that I had preserved a pod of the seed, news at which he was
delighted.
"There!" he said. "To think that you, Allan, should have remembered to
take that precaution when I, an orchidist, forgot all about it!"
"Ah! my boy," I answered, "I have lived long enough to learn never to
leave anything behind that I can possibly carry away. Also, although
not an orchidist, it occurred to me that there are more ways of
propagating a plant than from the original root, which generally won't
go into one's pocket.
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