FIRST AID TO THE INJURED.
APPARENTLY the storm that had so lately passed over this section had
played particular havoc with the farm buildings. Perhaps, with the
queer, jumping movements known to cyclones, it had dipped down in this
one quarter much more severely than anywhere else near by.
At any rate, it had succeeded in partly demolishing a barn, scattered
several tons of fine hay--that year's crop--and upset things generally.
The first thing the scouts noticed after that one glance around at the
damage done by the gale, was that a little group of persons seemed to be
hovering over a certain spot.
"Somebody hurt by the storm!" Elmer called over his shoulder, for, being
a good runner, he had easily taken the lead--Jasper was not so very
strong, while Larry happened to be built much too stockily for a
sprinter.
Then the boys received another shock. One of those bending over had
straightened up, and proved to be a stout-looking boy, with a bold,
resolute face.
Perhaps Jasper may have been reminded of the old saying he had heard
quoted in his home many times: "Speak of an angel, and you'll feel his
wings;" only no one who knew Matt Tubbs would ever dream of comparing
that quarrelsome youth with a celestial visitor; in fact, their thoughts
would be more apt to go out in the other direction.
Two women were wringing their hands, and crying. A man lay upon the
ground, and his groans told that he was suffering considerable bodily
pain.
"Don't I wish Ted Burgoyne was along!" exclaimed Elmer involuntarily, as
he hurried toward the group.
The boy mentioned belonged to the Wolf Patrol. He seemed to possess a
natural fancy for surgery, and had long ago been dubbed Dr. Ted by his
mates. And in numerous instances had he proved that their confidence in
him was not misplaced.
That was why Elmer now felt keen regret because of a lost opportunity
for the young Boy Scout medicine man to show his skill at setting broken
bones, or binding up other injuries almost as well as any experienced
physician could have done.
Elmer himself had made it a point to know something about such things.
He had in the past lived a wild life out in the great Canada wilderness,
where men, and boys, too, find it necessary to depend upon themselves in
great emergencies.
Although he feared he might be somewhat clumsy, and certainly lacked the
natural talent Ted Burgoyne had always shown, the scout leader was only
too willing to do whatever lay in his power to alleviate suffering.
In another moment he was leaning over the stricken man, whom he now
recognized as a middle-aged farmer, Simon Kent by name. The women, wife
and daughter of the farmer, had looked up eagerly as Matt seemed to
speak of the coming of others on the scene. Then their faces grew blank
again with despair. For what could a trio of mere boys do, when a doctor
was needed so badly?
"Oh! Matt, find the horse if you can, and hurry to town for Dr. Cooper!
He couldn't have run very far away!" the older woman was saying,
doubtless referring to the horse, and not the well-known Hickory Ridge
physician.
"Please wait just a minute or so, and let me take a look at Mr. Kent,"
said Elmer, modestly. "I happen to know a little about these things, you
see, ma'am; and I've set more than one broken limb."
The women stopped wailing for a time, and watched the confident boy as
he carefully examined the groaning farmer.
"How did it happen?" asked Larry of Matt Tubbs, who apparently must be
some relative of the Kents, as the woman seemed to know him very well.
"Storm blew the roof off'n the barn, and he got caught. Any feller with
peepers in his head ought tuh see that," replied young Tubbs, between
whom and Larry there had always been bad blood.
Elmer looked up and smiled in the faces of the two frightened women. He
knew they needed encouragement, and that he could not do them a greater
benefit than to allay their fears.
"He has a broken arm," he said, reassuringly, "and I think a couple of
his ribs are fractured, Mrs. Kent; but besides that there are only a few
bruises, and they do not amount to much. Nothing very serious,
understand. Mr. Kent isn't going to die. But I guess he'd better have
the doctor here as soon as Matt can ride to town. I'll do what I can in
the meantime, ma'am."
Matt Tubbs had been watching what he did with apparently the greatest
curiosity. He was utterly ignorant himself about everything that
pertained to first aid to the injured, and perhaps never before had felt
so utterly insignificant as when he saw Elmer Chenowith go about the
duties of a doctor with such calm assurance.
Jasper had run off in obedience to a request from the scout leader, and
now returned with some cold water. When Elmer had dashed a little of
this in the face of the farmer, the injured man came to his senses. His
groans ceased, though they could see from the expression on his rugged
face that he was suffering severely.
"It's all right, Mr. Kent," Elmer hastened to say in that convincing way
of his, as the farmer looked at him inquiringly. "You've got a broken
arm, and perhaps a couple of your ribs are out of the running for a
while, but you'll pull through all to the good. I'm going to do what I
can while Matt rides off for Dr. Cooper."
"Oh! it's you, Elmer, is it?" said the man, faintly. "But how d'ye know
I ain't got my death in that wreck of my barn? I feel like I'd been
through a threshing machine; on'y my left arm is numb."
"I've had some experience with these things, Mr. Kent, up in Canada.
Besides, sir, we belong to the Boy Scouts movement, and one of the
things taught there is what we call 'first aid to the injured.' I could
set your arm all right, but since the doctor can get here soon, I'd
better leave it for him. He mightn't like my meddling too much with his
practice. Will you ask Matt to please find the horse, and start for
town?"
"Oh! I'm agoin', all right," said that worthy, arousing himself; for he
had been staring at Elmer all this while, and listening to what he said
about the obligations of the scouts in time of need, as though he might
be hearing something that astonished him.
He glanced back several times as he walked away to look for the horse,
that was doubtless in some corner of the lot beyond the demolished
barns.
"Got something to think over, I reckon," grunted Larry, who had closed
up like a clam when Matt answered his civil question so roughly.
Shortly afterward they heard a shout. Then Matt dashed past, riding
bareback on the horse, and using the halter to guide him along the road.
He went flying toward town, and they knew he would send the doctor
before a great while.
"Here, fellows, Mr. Kent ought to be carried into the house," said
Elmer, turning to his chums. "We've got to make a litter to lay him on.
Come over here with me, and we'll knock one together in a jiffy."
"Sure we will!" declared Larry, who had a warm heart, even though a bit
inclined to quarrel at times, being quick-tempered.
There was plenty of material lying around; the storm had seen to that
when it tore things loose on the Kent farm. And presently the scouts
came back with some boards forming a very fair litter. Elmer had covered
it with several horse blankets he discovered in the partly demolished
barn.
But the farmer was getting back his strength again. He shook his head at
sight of the litter, and a slight smile appeared on his face, much to
the joy of his sadly frightened wife and daughter.
"I reckon I ain't so bad off as to need that, Elmer," he remarked. "Now,
if so be ye boys draw around, and take care not to handle that left arm
too rough, p'raps I could manage to get up. Arter that, with some help,
I'll hobble to the house. Don't ye look so peaked, wife; I'm better'n
ten dead men yet."
They helped him to rise, and then, leaning on Elmer, with the others
following close behind, eager to assist, they made their way slowly to
the farm building.
"Oh! what would we have done only for the coming of you boys?" exclaimed
Mrs. Kent, after they had managed to get the wounded farmer seated
fairly comfortably in a big sleepy hollow chair.
Elmer was making a sling in which the broken arm could be held, to ease
the pain and the strain until Dr. Cooper's arrival.
"Does this scouting teach you boys how to do that sort of thing?" asked
the grown daughter, who had been watching these actions of the boys
curiously.
"It is one of the things we have to learn before we can hope to become
first-class scouts," the boy replied. "You see, no one can ever tell
when a scout may be called on to help bring back a person to life who
has been nearly drowned, or to keep another from bleeding to death after
being cut with an ax in camp; then besides, sometimes boys have to be
rescued when they get a cramp while in swimming. And when a fellow knows
how to go about these things, he may be able to help save a human life.
We think it worth while."
"I should say it was!" exclaimed Miss Kent, enthusiastically. "After
this I'm going to take more interest in boys than I have. I always
thought they were as much alike as peas in a pod; and perhaps I oughtn't
to say it, because he's in our family, but you see, I somehow judged all
boys by my Cousin Matt."
Elmer smiled.
"Well," he said, nodding, "I hope that when you come to look into this a
little closer, Miss Julia, you'll understand that it stands for big
things. My father says it's the greatest movement for the uplifting of
American boys that ever happened, barring none. And I'm going to send
you some printed matter that will tell you just what the Boy Scouts aim
to do. When you know that, I just guess you'll find reason to change
your opinion of boys."
Even the injured farmer had listened to what was said with a show of
interest.
"Sho! Elmer," he remarked, "I've heard a heap of this thing, and didn't
take much stock in it. Thought it meant the boys was goin' to be made
into soldiers, and as I'm a man of peace I couldn't stand for that. On'y
yesterday the dominie was tellin' me it ain't got a blessed thing to do
with military tactics. And arter the able way you handled yourself
to-day, blessed if I ain't agoin' to read the stuff you send Julie. If I
had a boy I'd like him to jine the scouts. And that's as far as I've
got. But if it makes the lads clean, manly, and ekal to emergencies,
like you seem to be, it's a boss thing."
And Elmer felt his heart glow with satisfaction, for his whole interest
was by now bound up in the success of the Hickory Ridge troop of scouts;
and anything that went to make them new friends appealed to him
strongly.
When half an hour had gone the sound of an automobile horn was heard out
on the road.
"There comes Dr. Cooper!" called Jasper, who had been on the lookout.
When the physician came bustling in he looked questioningly at the three
boys. Possibly Matt may have told him the scouts were meddling with
things, and his professional instincts were shocked. But when he saw
what Elmer had done, and made an examination himself, he declared that
the extent of Mr. Kent's injuries were just as the boy had stated.
"And I want to say, Elmer," he added, as the boys were about to hurry
away, "I believe in the first-aid-to-the-injured principle which you
boys try to live up to. If more people only kept their senses about them
in cases of accident, it would make easier work for the doctors, and
save lots of lives. Good luck to you, boys!"
"And we shall never be able to tell you how thankful we all are for your
coming, Elmer. The first time I meet your mother, I'm going to let her
know what a fine son she has," declared Miss Julia, as she and her
relieved mother shook hands with the three scouts at the door.
"I had two comrades, please remember, Miss Julia," said Elmer,
significantly; and taking the hint she repeated the words while bidding
Jasper and Larry good-by.
"Well," remarked Elmer, as he and his chums once more tramped along the
road, "I notice that you two fellows have your badges turned upside down
still, to remind you that so far to-day you've found no opportunity to
do anybody a good turn. As your scout master, I want to say that you
can't get them changed any too soon; for you've just been of the
greatest help to the Kent family!"
And both Larry and Jasper, making the usual scout salute, with the thumb
holding back the little finger of the right hand, proceeded to unfasten
their badges, and replace them right side up.
They had earned the privilege to wear them so for the balance of that
eventful day!