WHAT PERK DID
The tall boy stared hard at Perk when he made that astonishing
announcement.
“What! did he drop in on you too?” he gasped, and then added
quickly: “but you just said you’d be wild if a crazy man came into
camp. Perk, whatever are you giving us? It isn’t like you to yarn.”
“Oh! let me tell you,” continued the other, softly, like one who
delighted in making hay while the sun shone; it wasn’t often Perk
had a chance to whet the curiosity of his chums, and evidently he
was bent on making the most of the present opportunity.
“Wish you would!” grumbled Wee Willie, looking unhappy because he
was unable to see through the maze that confronted him, and
understand just what that smirk on Perk’s round phiz meant.
“To go back,” remarked Perk, reminiscently, “I had managed to build
a bully fire, and was getting nicely dried out. That was along about
midnight, I should say. The storm was past, and since the lightning
had stopped except away off in the distance, I wasn’t afraid any
longer to occupy a hollow tree I’d marked down, and under which I
found my wood-pile.
“Well, there I was, beginning to feel that life wasn’t so tough a
thing after all, when I heard some one calling. Oh! yes, it made me
have a funny feeling I admit, because there I was away off by
myself, alone in the flooded woods, with the trees still dripping,
and the thunder growling in the distance.
“But I could tell that whoever it was trying to attract my attention
he must be in some pain; and so I made up my mind it was up to me to
start out and find him. That was the time, boys, I wished I had a
gun along with me; for I remembered about that crazy man, and it
didn’t make me at all happy either.
“I went out, after fixing my fire so I could easy enough get back,
if nothing grabbed me. He kept calling, and soon I came on him,
trying his best to limp along. You see, he’d gone and sprained his
ankle pretty badly, and couldn’t bear to put that foot on the
ground.
“That stirred me, I tell you, fellows. I tried to remember
everything I’d ever been told about sprains, and what was best to do
for them. Come to look and I found that it was a bad injury, with
his ankle a heap swollen; and, say, I bet you it hurt like
everything; all of which was especially bad for him, because, well
for a good reason.
“I made him lean on me, and step by step managed to get the poor
chap over to my fire, where I stowed him on some branches I’d gone
and gathered and dried out with the heat. Then I took off his shoe,
and bathed his ankle with cold water from a little creek that was
running bank-full close by.
“He said he felt a lot better afterwards, but kept groaning every
once in a while, I didn’t know just why, except that he knew he’d
probably not be able to walk decent for weeks again. That makes some
difference to a fellow, I happen to know, because I’ve had a
sprained ankle myself, and had to stay out of school for three whole
weeks, using a cane afterwards.”
“Huh! that _was_ a terrible time for you, Perk,” grunted Wee Willie,
“and ever so many fellows saying they envied you the chance. But
keep right along telling the details. Was he a dark-faced,
wiry-looking chap; and could he talk like a house afire?”
“Not my visitor, Wee Willie. I hope now you don’t think I
entertained that wild man, like you did?” Perk protested.
“Hardly possible,” said Elmer, “for he went away in the opposite
direction to this; and besides, couldn’t have been at our fire until
midnight, and then bobbed up away off here at the same time.”
“Just so,” continued Perk, sagaciously; and then went on to tell how
he had arranged things for the comfort of his caller.
Elmer already “smelled a rat.” He began to see which way the wind
was blowing, and could now understand why Perk had been casting so
many queer glances in the direction of Amos. There was a _reason_,
and a good one for this; and Elmer was now in a fair position to
read between the lines as it were.
“Now I know,” broke in Wee Willie after a bit, “why you broke that
cake of chocolate in two, and ate only half of it; you mean the rest
for this fellow you’ve taken under your wing, eh, Perk?”
The other nodded eagerly.
“I’m sure he must be nearly as hungry as I am,” he explained,
“though he said he wasn’t, and that he’d eaten a full supper last
night, which of course I didn’t. But it wouldn’t be fair for me to
swallow the whole cake, so I’m saving his share.”
“I believe you’d do the same for the worst scoundrel unhung, if he
happened to fall into your hands, like this chap with the sprained
ankle did,” Elmer boldly told him. “You’ve got a heart as big as a
bushel basket, Perk; and think of every one before yourself.”
“But how anybody could do different, I can’t for the life of me
see,” protested the other, simply.
By now Elmer believed he began to see light. Wee Willie, however,
proved denser, for he was still wrestling with the problem in his
mind, wondering who on earth it could be Perk had come upon so soon
after the storm, and whose injuries he had attended to as best he
knew how, with his limited knowledge of “first aid.”
Amos, too, was hanging on every word that was spoken. Apparently he
had also conceived some sort of plausible explanation for Perk’s
actions. When the latter found Amos so eagerly observing him, with
that hungry light in his eyes, he hastily turned his head away.
Elmer wondered why Perk did not seem to be embarrassed in any way,
so he must conclude that the other simply meant to enjoy their
bewilderment as long as he reasonably could, before lifting the
curtain and disclosing his secret to full view.
“It’s going to break right away,” Elmer told himself, confidently.
“He just can’t hug that much longer to himself. Besides, Perk never
could be cruel, even to an insect. Haven’t I seen him carefully step
over an ants’ nest many a time, when other boys would carelessly
trample it underfoot? And he’ll soon realize that in holding back
he’s causing some one to suffer.”
So Elmer did not raise a hand to hasten the disclosure, content to
let matters take their course. Wee Willie on his part now began to
scent some wonderful mystery.
“See here, Perk,” he broke in, with an assumption of severity;
“you’re trying to pull the wool over our eyes, for some reason or
other, I guess. Now quit your kidding, and show us. Where’s your
friend? Produce this man with the sprained ankle, won’t you, Perk?
We’d all like to make his acquaintance, don’t you know? Here’s Elmer
getting as impatient as anything, even if he doesn’t show it; and as
for Amos, why he can hardly wait for you to lift the lid. I’m in the
same box myself; so lead us to him, Perk!”
“He’s close by here, I want you to know,” explained the fat chum,
chuckling in his mysterious way. “Mebbe you’ll be surprised to meet
up with him. It might even be you’ll think I builded better than I
suspected when I answered that call for help, and ventured out to
find this poor chap.”
He was looking straight at Amos while saying this, though apparently
speaking to Wee Willie. Amos was as white as a sheet, and his limbs
seemed to be trembling under him, for some reason or other. There
was also a pleading look in his eyes that made Perk squirm, and feel
that he was displaying unnecessary cruelty in holding back as he
did.
“Please, oh! please take us to him right away, won’t you, Perk?”
“That’s just what I’m going to do, Amos,” he replied. “So come
along, all of you, and meet my friend, the man who doesn’t expect to
walk for a whole month, because it happens to be his only good foot
that’s knocked out of business, since he’s lame in the other!”
Saying which, he started the excited boys on a bee-line through the
woods.