Not once did the old mountaineer speak while he was washing the blood from Aldous' face and hands.

There was a shallow two-inch cut in his forehead, two deeper ones in his right cheek, and a gouge in his chin.

There were a dozen cuts on his hands, none of them serious.

Before he had finished MacDonald had used two thirds of a roll of court-plaster.
Then he spoke.
"You can soak them off in the morning," he said.

"If you don't, the lady'll think yo're a red Indian on the warpath.