`` let 's have a little rum , then , '' jack telly said , whining ; and with some reluctance laurence approved blincoln 's doling it out to the men in small cups : the worst possible medicine for their present condition , considered as a matter of health , and yet as a matter of discipline the most necessary ; they were grown restive in direct proportion to the increasing torpor of the dragons , and the folly of discomfort might easily drive them to desertion and flight into the wilds of the forest , however more unlikely they were to find relief or water on their own .