"No," said the Captain, "never seen him anywhere. Why--have you?"

"Certainly seen him somewhere--trying to remember where. I thought
perhaps it might have been at the flying-school or at one of the
messes. Can't place him at all, but I'll swear I've met him."

"Manoeuvres, perhaps," suggested the other, "or 'board ship."

"Extraordinary thing is that I feel I _ought_ to know him well.
Something most familiar about the face. I'm afraid it's a bit too late
to--Broken ribs--fractured thigh--broken ankles--broken
arm--perforated lungs--not much good trying to get him down, I'm
afraid. He might linger for days, though, if we decided to stand by,
up here. A really first-class problem for solution--we're in luck,"
mused Colonel Decies, making his rapid and skilful examination. "Yes,
we must get him down, of course--after a bit of splinting."

"And then the real 'problem' will commence, I suppose," observed
Captain Digby-Soames. "You couldn't put him into my seat and fly him
to Kot Ghazi while I dossed down with the camel and waited for you to
come for me. And it wouldn't do to camel him to that building which
looks like a dak-bungalow."

"No. I think you'll have to stand by while I fly to Kot Ghazi and
bring the necessary things for a temporary job, and then return and
try to guide an ambulance waggon here. Oh, for an aeroplane-ambulance!
This job brings it home to you pretty clearly, doesn't it? Or I might
first go and have a look at the alleged dak-bungalow and see if we
could possibly run him over there on a charpoy[30] or an improvised
camel-stretcher. It'll be a ghastly job getting down. I don't know