CHAPTER XXI.
"BE PREPARED!"
"WHEE!"
It was Bumpus who gave utterance to this exclamation, though possibly hehardly realized, himself, that he was saying anything, as he stoodthere, and gaped at the sight of the wounded mountaineer being helpedalong into their camp.
But if Bumpus, and some of the others, were spell-bound by what theysaw, gazing as though fascinated at the blood dripping from the man'sfingers, Thad Brewster was not included in this group.
He had long ago picked up a smattering of knowledge connected with asurgeon's duties; and ever since taking up the new life of a Boy Scout,those things which concerned the saving of human life had somehowappealed to young Thad with redoubled force.
More than once now had he been called upon to show what he knew alongthese lines. A boy had been severely cut by an ax he was carelesslywielding in camp; and might have bled to death only for the energeticactions of Thad, who knew just how to secure a stout bandannahandkerchief around above the wound, with the knot pressing on theartery; and making a tourniquet by passing a stick through the folds ofthe rude bandage, twist until the bleeding was temporarily stopped, andthe boy could be taken to a doctor.
Another time it had been a case of near drowning, when Thad, who hadlearned his lesson well, succeeded in exercising the lad's arms, afterlaying him on his chest and pressing his knee upon him, until he hadstarted the lungs to working. In that case every one of the other scoutsdeclared that only for these prompt applications of scout knowledge theunfortunate one would surely have died.
And so, when he saw that the man who was being thus supported into theircamp had been shot in the arm, and was in danger of bleeding to death,the surgeon instinct in Thad Brewster came immediately to the surface.
He never once thought about the fact that the man was very probably oneof those very lawless moonshiners, whose presence all around hadvirtually marooned himself and chums in the heart of the mountains. Hewas a man, and in trouble; and perhaps Thad could be of some help!
And so the generous-hearted boy sprang forward, eager to lend a hand.
"Bring him right up to the fire, men!" he exclaimed. "What happened tohim? Was he shot? We heard a gun go off a little while ago, and wonderedwhat it meant."
The two men urged their injured companion forward. He seemed to havelittle mind of his own in the matter; though Thad could see that he hadhis jaws set, and was apparently determined to betray no sign ofweakness in this terrible hour. The customary grit of the North Carolinamountaineer was there, without fail. It showed in the clenched hand, thegrim look on his weather-beaten face, as well as in those tightly closedteeth.
"Yep, 'twar an accident," almost fiercely replied one of the men, whomThad now recognized as the fellow whom they had met driving the vehiclethat Bob declared had kegs of the illicit mountain dew hidden under thestraw--Nate Busby. "We was walkin' thro' ther woods w'en a twig cort thetrigger o' my gun, and she hit Cliff in the arm, makin' a bad hurt.Reckons as how he never kin hold out till we-uns git him acrost ter therdoc's cabin."
"You could, if we managed to stop that bleeding," said Thad, eagerly."Bring him over here, and let me take a look, men. I've done a littlesomething that way. And perhaps you don't know it; but all Boy Scoutsare taught how to shut off the flow of blood. There, set him down, andhelp me get his coat off. There's no time to lose."
"Nope, thar's sure no time tuh lose," muttered the wretched Nate, whowas undoubtedly feeling very keenly the fact that it had been _his_ gunthat had been discharged through accident, causing all this trouble; andthat if the man died, his relatives might even want to hold the unluckyowner of that weapon to account for his carelessness, inexcusable in onewho had been mountain born and bred.
They sat the wounded man down as gently as though he had been a babe;after which Nate assisted Thad to take the ragged coat off.
Some of the scouts crowded close, though with white faces; for the sightof blood is always enough to send a cold chill to the hearts of thoseunaccustomed to the spectacle. But Allan was an exception; and strangelyenough, there was Smithy, whom no one would ever have expected to showthe least bit of nerve, evidently ready to lend the amateur surgeon ahelping hand, if he called for recruits. It often takes a suddenemergency call like this to show what is under the veneered surface of aboy. Smithy had always been deemed rather effeminate; yet here he couldstand a sight that sent the cold shivers chasing up and down the spinesof such fellows as Giraffe, Davy Jones, and Step Hen, and almostcompletely upset poor Bumpus.
"Get me one of those stout bandages I brought along, Allan, please,"said Thad, when he could see what the terrible nature of the wound was;"you know where they are. And Smithy, will you hand me that stickyonder?"
In a brief space of time the several articles were at the service of theboy, who first of all made a good-sized knot in the handkerchief, afterwrapping it around the man's arm _above_ the wound; and then, insertingthe stout stick, he began twisting the same vigorously.
It must have pained tremendously, but not a whimper, not a semblance ofa groan did they hear from the bearded lips of the wounded mountaineer.Indeed, he seemed to arouse himself sufficiently to watch the confidentoperations of the young surgeon with a rising curiosity; and Thadthought he could detect a slight smile on his dark face.
As for Nate and the other rough man, they stared as though unable tobelieve their eyes, to thus see a mere boy so wonderfully able to dowhat was necessary in a case of life and death. Every little movementdid they follow with wrapt attention. No doubt, a great relief hadalready commenced to rise up in the heart of Nate, as hope again tookhold upon him. If the other survived the shock, and loss of blood, itwould not be so bad; and trouble might not come home to him on accountof his liability for the accident.
Thad soon knew that he had done the right thing. The knot had beenproperly placed, so that the pressure upon the artery above the woundprevented any more blood being pumped that way by the excited action ofthe man's heart.
"There," he remarked, in a satisfied way, "I guess we've got thebleeding held up, and you can get him to a doctor, if, as you say, thereis one across the valley. I'm going to bind this stick so it can't comeloose while you're helping him along. But if it should, perhaps you'veseen how I did the job, and you could fix it up again?"
"Sure," replied Nate; "and yuh dun it ther neatest I ever knowed,younker. Reckon as how Cliff Dorie an' me has reason tuh be glad yuhhappened tuh be so clost. If so be he lives thru hit, as he will now,dead sartin, he's gwine tuh owe his life tuh yer."
Thad happened to catch a glimpse of Bob's face just then, as the otherturned toward him; for up to now he had been keeping rather aloof, notwishing to be noticed by either of the mountain men. He was surprised tosee the expression of suddenly renewed hope that seemed to have taken upits abiding place there. Apparently the Southern boy had made a pleasingdiscovery, which of course Thad could only guess at, until he had founda chance to speak to his comrade. But he understood readily enough thatit must concern the coming of the three men, and the fact of the scoutsbeing enabled to place them under obligations.
With the flow of blood stopped, the wounded man seemed to gather newenergy. He no doubt felt that he had at least a fair chance to pullthrough. He started to get on his feet, seeing which Thad immediatelyoffered his hand to help him; and the mountaineer's horny palm wasconfidently thrust into his much smaller one; as though, after whatmiracle he had already seen the lad perform, the man were willing totrust him in anything.
Yes. Fortune had again been kind to the scouts; only in this instance ithad not been a case of searching for chances to do good; the opportunityhad come knocking at their very door, so that all that was necessary wasfor them to _be prepared_, just as the scout's motto signifies, andthen do the best they knew how.
Again did the two men take hold of their stricken companion. Before theyquit the vicinity of the fire, however, the man named Nate Busby turnedand shook hands all around. Evidently he was grat
eful for the assistancerendered. To his mind this first aid to the injured meant a whole lot;and while he did not say a single word, his action was enough to showwhat he thought.
Then the group departed, heading toward the other side of the valley,where, in one of the humble cabins, some sort of mountain doctor was tobe found, rude in his way, no doubt, but perfectly capable of attendingto a gunshot wound; for these doubtless constituted the bulk of callsthat were made upon his services.
When they had gone the scouts began to discuss the queer happening, andcompare notes as to which one of them had shown the least alarm.
Bob Quail came directly over to where Allan and Thad were standing, justas the latter had expected he would do. That expression of eageranticipation still shone upon his dark face, and his eyes fairly glowedwith satisfaction.
"Well, will wonders ever stop happening?" he said, as he reached theothers. "Did you hear what Nate called the wounded man, Thad, Allan?"
"Yes, it was Cliff Dorie. And I guess you've heard it before, judgingfrom the way you act?" observed the scoutmaster.
"Talk about luck, why, we're just swimming neck deep in it, suh!" theother continued. "I thought he looked a little like somebody I'd knownbefoah; and when I heard that name, I knew it; Why, Cliff Dorie is thebrother of Old Phin's wife!"
"Fine!" exclaimed Allan, with a broad smile.
"I should say, yes," Bob went on, eagerly; "seems as though we were justbound to put the whole Dady family in our debt. There was Old Phinhimself, who felt so interested in all you told him about the Boy Scoutmovement; then there was Polly, who might have had her face badlyscratched, not to mention other wounds, if we hadn't just happened toget there in time to chase that savage mother bobcat off. And now you'vegone and saved the life of Polly's own uncle. Oh! p'raps, suh, we won'thave to get into any fuss at all about that prisoner of the Still;p'raps Old Phin might feel that we'd done his family enough good tochange his mind about keepin' that revenue man up there any longer,aworkin' his life out; and let him go away with us, if he promised neverto tell anything he'd learned. And let me say to you both, I'm feelin'somethin' right here, inside, that seems to tell me it's going to be allright, all right!" and Bob repeated those last two words softly,caressingly, as though they meant everything in the wide world to him.