"
Harris had his arm broken just above the elbow, and Brown a flesh wound
below the hip. He was the stoutest of the party, and jokingly said, as
he was carried back, that the bullet had passed through the largest
amount of flesh in the company. Chris once or twice went into the
hospitals with a doctor whose acquaintance he had made. They offered a
strong contrast to the scene that had taken place after the battle of
Elandslaagte, as in the hospitals at Chieveley and Frere everything was
as admirably arranged as they would have been in one of a large town. In
the daytime the sides of the marquees were lifted to allow of a free
passage of air. The nurses in their neat dresses moved quietly among the
patients with medicines, soups, jellies, and other refreshments ordered
for them. There were books for those sufficiently convalescent to be
able to read them, and those who wished to send a letter home always
found one of the nurses ready to write at their dictation. By some of
the bedsides stood bouquets of flowers sent by the ladies of Maritzburg,
and all had an abundance of delicious fruit from the same source.
CHAPTER XIX
MAJUBA DAY
"Did you hear of that plucky action of Captain Philips, of the Royal
Engineers, last night?" an officer who had just ridden in from the front
asked Chris that evening.
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