laurence was sitting , his head bent nearly to his knees , scarcely able to support the weight of hope resting so unexpectedly upon his shoulders , while keynes and dorset clambered over temeraire like monkeys : they had listened to his lungs with a great paper cone placed against the chest , to which they put their ears , and stuck their heads in his jaws to examine his tongue , which remained a healthy and unspotted red .