DAVIE’S PANAL HUNT: AND WHAT CAME OF IT
Davie was really getting to be quite a chunk of a boy. He was different
from Delbert,--more square and solid of build, of quieter and calmer
temperament too, slower in his motions and also in his thought and
speech. In features he resembled Esther more than any of the others.
He was a very straightforward little fellow. No matter how much he
differed from the others, he never saw any reason for concealing his
opinions or denying his actions. He did not talk much, but seemed to
do his share of thinking, and when he reached a conclusion was apt
to cling to it rather tenaciously. He usually yielded to Marian’s
authority with a pretty good grace, but as he grew older he was more
and more apt to disregard the wishes of the others when they crossed
his own. Jennie could, as a rule, manage him pretty well, for she was
very diplomatic about it, and seemed to have a gift for knowing when to
coax and pet him into doing what she wanted him to and when to twist
him adroitly round her fingers in some other way.
Esther, too, though she was not so successful as Jennie, rarely clashed
with her little brother, but Delbert, having perhaps less of the guile
of the serpent in his make-up, often did clash in a small way. He
thought that as he was older his wishes should have the preference as
a matter of course. But Davie held other ideas. He did not propose
to have Delbert bossing him just because he was bigger, and often he
was stubborn just for the pleasure of plaguing his older brother. The
trouble was never very deep-seated. Two minutes after an explosion
of hot words on Delbert’s part had called Marian’s attention so that
she could settle the matter, whatever it was, the little boy would be
cuddled up beside the older one, sweet-tempered and smiling as you
please.
Delbert never seemed to lay Davie’s naughtiness up against him after
the immediate occasion had passed. But one day there were after effects
which neither of them had counted upon.
Davie had gone with Delbert and Esther up into the pasture to see how a
certain _panal_ was growing, Marian and Jennie being detained at the
wickiup. The _panal_ was still too small to be molested, so they went
back, skirting the high, rocky part of the Island that lay overlooking
the shallow part of the harbor. They went down to the water once and
then climbed up again, and Delbert suggested that they go back to the
level pasture and follow the path home as the quickest way of getting
there. Davie, for no reason save that Delbert wanted to go back to the
path, decided that he wanted to continue climbing over the rocks; he
said he was looking for _panales_.
Delbert did not want to go on and leave him behind, for they were a
long way from the wickiup, and Davie was little. But he coaxed to no
avail and issued positive orders with as little result. Esther, too,
tried her hand, but it was useless. Davie continued wending his way
along the roughest, rockiest part, “looking for _panales_.”
Delbert fretted and fumed, and presently they came to where Davie must
come back to the level land or else crawl along where it was really
dangerous for him to go.
Had it been Jennie, she would have looked the other way, started a
conversation with Esther about something a long way off, and pretended
to forget all about the little boy, and he, finding himself no longer
in the lime-light, as it were, would have quietly come back and trailed
along in the path behind her. But Delbert was pretty well worked up
anyway, and he was truly alarmed for Davie’s safety in that spot.
“Now, Davie, you will have to come back,” he said.
“No, go along here,” returned Davie with true Indian brevity.
“Why, you can’t! Honest, Davie, it isn’t safe. Marian wouldn’t let you
if she were here. Come on, now.”
Davie hesitated a minute, debating whether he should attempt farther
advance where he was or go back with the others. To jump across to the
next rock was almost beyond his daring, but it would be having his own
way. He made, or appeared to make, preparation for it.
A quick, hot wave of anger flashed over Delbert. He started forward,
intending to catch his naughty little brother and carry him back along
the path by force, at least till they were well past the rocky danger.
He knew he could do it, once he got hold of him.
Davie knew it, too, and made all haste to jump before Delbert could
get to him. Perhaps he could have made it, if he had done it with
deliberation, but, as it was, he slipped, missed his mark, lost his
balance, and, slipping, failed to regain it and fell.
Delbert and Esther never will forget the sickening horror of that
moment. They rushed forward and scrambled down the rocks as best they
could to where the little boy lay, making no effort to get up, but
screaming at the top of his lungs.
Esther was crying, too, but Delbert managed to control himself enough
to refrain from that, and, frightened as he was, horrified through and
through, he could still reflect that though such a fall might easily
have broken his neck, Davie’s yells proved he was still very much alive.
[Illustration: DAVIE’S FALL]
When he reached his little brother and tried to pick him up he screamed
louder than before, if possible, and then Delbert saw that one leg
was bent in a way that proved even to his inexperience that the bone
was broken. There was also a cut on the head that was bleeding badly.
With white face and shaking fingers Delbert examined the head and was
relieved to find that the skull did not seem to be broken, so he took
off the rag that was tied about his own head to keep the hair out of
his eyes, and tied it about Davie’s to stop the bleeding. There was
only salt water to be had just there, and Delbert did not know enough
to know whether that would do at all to put on or not, but he knew it
would make the wounds smart badly, so he did not risk washing them with
it.
Esther had already started off to carry the news to Marian. Delbert
almost wished he had gone himself, as he would probably have reached
the wickiup a few minutes sooner. Still, supposing Davie were hurt
inside! Supposing he were to die before Marian got there!
If Delbert had been older and wiser, he would have known that only
about half of Davie’s yells were from the pain of his injuries, and
the other half were from fright at the pain. As it was, not daring to
move the little fellow a bit lest he hurt him more, he could only curl
down beside him and, putting his arms around him, kiss him and talk as
soothingly as he could.
One arm that lay under him Davie did not try to move, but he put the
other about Delbert’s neck and sobbed, “I--want--to go--back--to--to
the--path, Dellie!”
A week later Delbert sat down and laughed till his sides ached over the
memory of that speech, but at the time it did not strike him as being
at all funny.
As soon as she got back to the smooth ground, Esther ran like a little
deer, ran and ran, stumbled and fell twice, and picked herself up and
ran again till she was out of breath, and walked till she regained it,
and ran again. She was all out of breath when she stumbled into the
wickiup.
Marian was not there. She and Jennie had started down the new path for
water, but in answer to Esther’s wild calls they quickly returned. The
tears had made streaks through the dirt that Esther got on her face
when she fell, and she was sobbing so she could not talk straight.
“Oh, he wouldn’t mind Dellie, Marian, he wouldn’t mind Dellie, and he
fell way down on the rocks, and he’s all broken and bleedy!”
It was not a very reassuring way to tell news certainly. Jennie began
to cry, but though Marian’s face went white, she remained calm.
“Esther, who fell?”
“Davie. He wouldn’t mind Dellie--”
“There, there! Listen, Esther! Esther, is he dead?”
“N--n--not yet,” gasped Esther, “but he’s all bleedy and Dellie says
his leg is broke, and he is crying awfully.”
Marian drew a long breath; then, “Jennie, stop crying, so you can help
me,” she said. “Esther, sit down there and get your breath. Where is
Davie? Where did he fall?”
“Down by Little Pig Cove. He wouldn’t go in the path, and he tried to
jump and he fell, and Dellie stayed with him.”
Marian pressed her hands tightly to her temples for a moment, and in
that moment thought of all that she could do.
“Esther,” she said, “fold that blanket to take back with us. Did
Delbert have his good lariat with him? Yes? Then see if you can find
another stick like this out in the pile. Jennie, hold this jar so I can
pour what water is in the demijohn into it. There, it isn’t full, but
we can’t stop to go for more now.”
Esther appeared with the two sticks. Marian made a bundle of their old
ragged clothes and gave it to Jennie to carry; then, taking the jar of
water and the blanket, she followed Esther’s lead as fast as she could.
When they got back to where the boys were, they found Davie still lying
where he fell, sobbing, but not quite so wildly as at first.
Delbert, white-faced and shaken still, crouched beside him.
Marian examined the child as well as she could. The cut on the head
was already ceasing to bleed, and the other scratches and bumps, ugly
though they were, did not alarm her, but at sight of that little
crooked leg her heart sank. How could she set a bone? She mistrusted
that the under arm was injured too, and goodness only knew how much
more.
She set Jennie and Delbert to making a stretcher out of the two sticks
and the blanket, while she and Esther hunted up some sticks as nearly
straight as they could find to make a temporary splint for the leg,
till they could get back to the wickiup.
Every time they moved the leg, Davie screamed and beat at them with
his good arm. He made no attempt to move the other one. At last Marian
ordered Jennie and Esther to hold him and his pugnacious little arm,
while she and Delbert managed the leg.
Jennie began to cry. “O Marian, don’t! don’t!” she sobbed.
Marian sat up and pushed back some loose strands of hair that straggled
over her eyes.
“Jennie,” she said, “we have _got_ to hurt him. We can’t help it. We
have _got_ to get him back to the wickiup, where I can fix it--as well
as I can. If we don’t get it right, he will be a cripple all his life.
The pain won’t kill him; just the pain won’t, dearie. He may faint, but
it won’t be any worse. Don’t make it worse by your crying.”
So Jennie controlled herself as well as she could, and she and Esther,
steeling their hearts, held the little arm and head and shoulder down,
while Marian straightened the leg a little and arranged it so it would
be held fairly steady as they carried him back. Then she turned him
over and examined the arm. She could not see that it was hurt, but
she knew it must be. As gently as she could, she lifted him on to the
stretcher and gave him a big drink of water. Then they started back.
Davie and Esther cried all the way.
At the wickiup they laid him as gently as they could on the floor, but
he screamed with the pain nevertheless. Marian set all three of the
others to bringing up water, and she put some on in the little kettle
over the fire.
She washed off the blood and dirt and tore her bathing-suit into
bandages. Fortunately, it was clean, having been washed and boiled in
fresh water, as it chanced, since she had used it, and she put a clean
bandage around the head in the place of the rather dirty rag that
Delbert had tied it with. Then she gathered all the little pieces of
board they had, and while the others brought the water, she worked at
splints.
When she had got these ready, she straightened her patient out on the
floor on his back, and undid the first hasty bandaging and tried to
straighten his leg till it would look and feel just like the other one.
Jennie and Esther were too much wrought up by Davie’s suffering to be
of much service, but Delbert set his white lips together and held the
screaming child firmly. At last they thought it seemed to be right and
bandaged it up.
“Marian,” said Delbert, “his shoulder cracked awful funny just now.”
After a little examination she said, “I guess it must have been twisted
out of place a little and slipped back in. You see, he moves it now,
and it certainly feels just like the other one, at any rate.”
She felt him all over, but could find nothing more that seemed like
broken bones, for which she was devoutly thankful.
She had an idea that Davie must not be moved at all for a week at
least, and as a precaution against this she tied the bandaged leg to
the side of the wickiup. For the life of her she could not remember
how long it took a broken bone to heal, though she must some time have
heard some one say; and of course the others were no wiser. Delbert had
it running in his head that it was three weeks, but Jennie said, “No,
that is how long it takes a chicken to hatch.”
“Anyway,” said Esther, “when it does grow together it itches awfully. I
heard Mr. Faston say so.”
Davie was so exhausted that he slept quite a while that afternoon, but
by night he was awake and feverish, and, of course, very fretful.
Marian kept pouring a little cold water on his bandages. She was sure
that was the right thing to do, and she sat beside him, soothing him by
every device she could think of and feeling her heart grow heavier and
heavier as his fever rose and he struggled to turn and toss, and moaned
and cried.
At night the little girls slept, and Delbert too to some extent, but
there was no sleep for Marian. She was afraid there was some internal
injury, not knowing that the fever was the natural result of the shock
and hurt and only what any doctor would have expected.
She kept the bandages wet with cold water and wrung out hot cloths and
applied them to the sore and lame spots. She bathed and rubbed and
worked over Davie and she kept her voice cheerful and her eyes smiling,
though a sickening fear held her heart.
It was days and days before she could feel at all easy, but the fever
departed, the swellings went down, and no more lame spots came to
light. Davie ate well and slept fairly well too. He began to regain his
old sunny ways, and the tension on Marian’s nerves relaxed. But, of
course, she had to stay by him pretty closely; so the other children
performed the business of the day alone.
They attended to the garden and went down after each tide to see if
there were any fish in High-Tide Pool, because, though they never
found a whole school in there as they had on that day soon after their
arrival, still there were very likely to be one or two lurking in the
dark hole in the rocks, and one child would wade in and scare them out,
and Delbert, standing ready with the spear, would gather them in. There
were quite a number of places among the rocks where fish, and often
big fish, were to be found after high tide. If they could get them
that way, it saved going at night, and of course they could not well
do that now. Anyway, it took quite a pile of _pitalla_ to light them
for a night’s spearing, and _pitalla_ was getting scarce in the near
neighborhood.