CHAPTER XXV.
SICKNESS IN THE CAMP.
ACCORDING to agreement, as soon as night fell, Charley, taking two ofthe Spaniards with him, went out to stand guard on the machine forthe night, while Walter and the other two took their posts on theguard line circling the camp. There is nothing so slow and tedious asdoing guard duty, but the boys managed to hasten the flight of time bychatting with their Spanish companions and adding new words and phrasesto their already fair knowledge of the language.
Much to their surprise nothing occurred to alarm the lads during thenight. At daybreak Charley climbed up on the steel crane and took agood look over the country, but he could discover no trace of the enemyor any sign of campfire smoke.
With the break of day the fireman came out to get up steam, and Charleywith his men returned to camp. "I can't see any trace of them or theircampfire," he told his chum, "and I believe I've hit upon the reasonwhy we were not molested last night."
"Let's have it," said Walter eagerly.
"I believe they think they have put us out of business with the killingof the mules and the burning of our wood supply," Charley answered. "Ofcourse they will soon discover their mistake and be at it again."
"Maybe they have gone back to town," his chum suggested hopefully,but Charley shook his head decidedly. "They would not go far," hedeclared positively. "They know it will not take us more than four orfive days at the most to get another pair of mules and start up again.Well, let's be thankful for their giving us even one night's peace. Iam going to get a bite to eat and turn in, and I advise you to do thesame. If we wake up early enough we'll take the truck, run in to townand see if that electric light has come."
"All right," Walter agreed.
It was nearly sundown when the boys awoke, so the purposed trip wasnot made. As the machine was now working again, there was no need ofa guard on it, so the boys agreed to divide up the camp watch. Onestanding guard with the Spaniards until midnight, and the other onefrom midnight until morning. "I'll take the first watch," Charley said,"then I can get a good nap and run into town in the morning."
Before going out to his post, Charley sauntered over to the Indian'scamp and exchanged greetings with Willie John. "Did you see anypale-faces in the woods to-day?" he inquired.
The Seminole shook his head. "No see strange pale-face," he said. "Seecampfire. Him one sleep old. Pale-faces gone."
"Well," said Charley, puzzled. "You must not go near any pale-facecamp in woods. They very bad men. Maybe they shoot you or oxen. Youunderstand?"
"Yes, me understand," said the Seminole. "No go near campfires anymore."
"The gunmen have either moved camp or gone to town," the lad remarkedto his chum when he returned to camp. "But we will keep watch just thesame. It may be only a ruse to throw us off our guard."
The night passed away, however, without the slightest alarm, much tothe lad's relief. Charley slept later than usual in the morning, andwhen he emerged from his tent he found the Captain waiting for him.
"One of the graders is sick," the old sailor informed him. "I wish youwould take a look at him. He looks to me to be pretty badly off."
The lad found the sick man, one of their best workers, tossingrestlessly on his cot, his face a brick red.
"What's the matter, Meticas?" he said cheerfully as he felt of the sickman's hot face.
"Plenty sick, senor," said the sufferer. "Plenty not all the time. Nocan work to-day. Work to-morrow, maybe."
"Don't you worry about the work," said the lad kindly. "I go to townthis morning, get doctor. He will make you well pretty quick."
"Thanks, senor," said the man gratefully.
"It looks to me like a case of jungle fever," the lad said as he joinedthe Captain.
"It's working in that nasty mud all the time that has made him sick,"the old sailor declared. "The hot sun burning down on that foul muck isenough to make an alligator sick. It don't bother me much, for I getoff to one side and keep out of it. It's hardest on the ground men andthe graders. They are in it all the time. They don't complain any, butI notice they are getting sores all over their legs from standing init. It would not surprise me if more of them came down before long."
"I hope not," Charley said fervently. "We are in enough trouble as itis. I am going in and get a doctor for him this morning. You can takeout one of the guards with you to take Meticas' place."
As soon as he had eaten breakfast, the lad took the truck and startedfor town. By noon he was back in camp again.
"Gosh, you made a quick trip," Walter commented.
"I didn't go to town," Charley said dejectedly. "Two miles from hereis as far as I could get with the truck."
"Why?" demanded his chum.
"Bridges blown up by dynamite from there on," said the other briefly."I walked ahead two miles from where I left the truck and there was nota bridge but what was wholly or partly wrecked."
"Whew!" whistled Walter, "that will shut us off from getting moresupplies."
"That's what it was intended to do," said his chum wearily, "but, Ithink, we can fool them on that point if we act quickly. Has WillieJohn come in for his dinner yet?"
"I think he is over at his camp now."
"Come on over with me," Charley said. "We have got to act quickly or wewill find ourselves penned up out here without food."
They found Willie John and his family squatted around a big iron potfull of bear meat into which they kept dipping their hands and fishingafter choice tid-bits.
"This afternoon you and boy go to Indiantown for us," Charley said."You tell all of tribe we want to buy plenty yams, corn, pumpkins,pigs, and two cattle, then go out to trading-post and buy all theflour, sugar and coffee Mr. Bowers will sell. Have Indians bring allhere to camp quick. Pretty soon bad pale-faces tear up bridge so we canno get grub. You understand?"
"Yes, me understand," said the Seminole. "Me go on foot. Indians gotplenty of wagons to bring grub. Go much faster walk. Boy and squawdrive oxen and haul wood while I am gone."
"Good," Charley approved. "You come over to camp before you go and Igive you plenty of money to buy grub with."
"That will settle the food question for quite a while," the ladobserved, as the two boys sauntered back to the tent.
"We don't really need anything from town for quite a while, except adoctor. I am going to see if I cannot do something for the sick man,but if he gets worse, we will have to get a couple of Indian ponies andgo in for a doctor. By leaving the road and taking to the woods one canpick their way into town, but it would make a long, tiresome, dangerousjourney, and we don't want to attempt it unless we absolutely have to."
Charley found the sick man about as he had left him, hot with fever andtossing restlessly. After viewing his condition carefully, the lad wentback to his tent and got out the little medicine chest they usuallycarried with them.
"What are you going to give him?" Walter inquired.
"A big dose of calomel now, and as soon as the fever passes off I willgive him two grain doses of quinine every two hours," said Charleypromptly. "That's what the doctors always give for these swamp fevers.I am not much afraid of this kind of fever. It seldom kills and whenproperly treated it is easily cured. Of course it leaves one weak for awhile, and not able to do much work. I wish, though, that I knew whatto do to keep the mud from making sores on the men. I am more afraid ofthe sores than I am of the fever."
"I don't know anything about medicine," said Walter thoughtfully, "butit is evident that the sores come from germs or poisons in the mud. Nowif the men would put carbolic acid in the water when they bathe morningand night and then put on some carbolic salve, I believe it would checkor kill that which makes the sores."
"I believe you're right," Charley agreed. "We will have them try itanyway. As soon as I can get to town I am going to get leggins for themall. That will keep the mud from coming in direct contact with theirskins. Well, we had better get what rest we can now. Those fellows havefinished with the bridges and they wil
l likely be back to make us moretrouble to-night. I don't feel as though I had got enough sleep anyway."
The two lads wisely retired to their cots, where they gained a coupleof hours of good hard slumber from which they were awakened by thearrival of Willie John returning from his errand. "Wagons come prettysoon, bring plenty grub," he informed them.
Before dark the wagons began to arrive, loaded with yams, pumpkins,corn, and young pigs, besides all the flour, sugar and coffee Mr.Bowers had been able to spare from the trading-post.
The boys viewed the supply of food with satisfaction.
"There's enough to run us a couple of months," Charley declared, "andby that time we will either be doing well or else driven off the job."Before night fell the lad went in and took another look at the sickman. The fever had left him, so he gave him the first dose of twograins of quinine. "Repeat it every two hours until you go to bed," hetold the Captain, who had come in from work. "I'll manage to slip in acouple of times after you retire and give it to him."
"There is another one coming down with it," the old sailor saidgloomily. "Rama has been yawning and complaining of aching bones allday."
"Send him in here and to-morrow take out one of the guards in hisplace," said the lad promptly. "I am going to have the rest of the menmove out of this tent into the others and turn this one into a hospitaltent where the men can be quiet and undisturbed."