The bottle of cream he had begged from Ma Briskow he now put to use.

With this soothing liquid he first washed out their eyes, the membranes of which were raw and spongy, and excruciatingly sensitive to light, then he bandaged them as best he could with compresses, wet in it.
"You'll breathe easier as time goes on," he announced.

"You'll cough a good deal for a few days, but where you are going that won't disturb anybody.

Your eyes will get well, too, if you take care of them as I direct.

But, meanwhile, let me warn you against lifting those bandages.
Advise me as they dry out and I'll wet them again." A blessed relief stole over the unfortunate pair; they were still sick and weak, but in a short time the acuteness of their suffering had diminished sufficiently for Gray to help them into the back seat of his car and resume his journey.
Sarcastically he referred to the sample case on the tonneau floor.