He had been head surgeon in one of the Paris hospitals, and had been assigned his present post because of his marvellous quickness with the knife.

The hospital was the nearest to a hill of great strategical importance, and the fighting in the neighbourhood was almost continuous.

Often a single ambulance would bring in three or four cases, each one demanding instant attention.

Dr.
Poujoulet, with his hairy arms bare to the shoulder, would polish them off one after another, with hardly a moment's rest between, not allowing time even for the washing of the table.

Joan would have to summon all her nerve to keep herself from collapsing.