CHAPTER XVI
HOMEWARD BOUND—CONCLUSION
"Help! Let go of me! Hi! Elmer, he's up here! Come quick, I can't hold him any longer!"
That was what Toby was shrieking excitedly, as he struggled with the poor demented Spanish War veteran. Then there came answering shouts from Elmer, now close at hand; but of course Toby could not carry out any directions that were fired at him.
Presently those below saw the two figures topple over the edge, Toby still frantically clutching his beloved parachute, which was extended to its fullest dimensions, and the other evidently fiercely trying to hold on to his supposed enemy.
The extended blanket was torn from the grasp of the two boys, despite their earnest attempt to hold it taut; but at the same time it must have helped break the fall of the pair. The parachute had not been built for two, and could not be expected to bear their combined weight, in spite of Toby's boasts about half a ton not being too much.
One of the recumbent figures instantly sprang to his knees. It was Toby, and he still gripped the rod of his parachute with a determined hold.
"Never hurt me a teenty bit!" he shrilled, in his excitement; and then he suddenly stilled his ardor, for on looking down he saw the crazy man, dressed in that soiled white uniform brought from Cuba, lying there with the blood trickling down the side of his head, and the sight shocked Toby into repressing his exultation.
But Elmer was coming on the run, and already Doctor Ted had knelt beside Ralph Oxley, with his professional instincts all aroused. He sent one of the boys racing to the camp for his medicine case; and Elmer on his arrival suggested that they carry the unconscious young man to where the fire burned.
Being scouts, and accustomed to making a good litter out of almost anything, they speedily arranged it so that between four of them the victim of the fall was borne to the camp. On the way they met Lil Artha and George, hurrying toward the house; but of course these parties now returned with them, since the medicine case was needed in camp.
Ted first of all washed the wound in the young soldier's head with cold water, and then applied a cloth soaked in soothing balm, that would assist in stopping the bleeding.
"Oh! I hope he isn't going to die on us," said Toby, who seemed to feel that in some way his desire to test his parachute life-saving appliance from the tower of the old house had brought this near-tragedy about, and hence he felt unusually sorry.
"I don't think tho," Doctor Ted hastened to tell him; "he got a nathty cwack on the head, and it's fwactured it thome, but right now he theems to be coming out of the daze. There, did you thee his eyeth open and thut again? Next time he'll keep them open, believe me, fellowth."
Imagine the amazement and consternation of the boys when a minute later Ralph Oxley not only opened his eyes, but stared all around at each one in turn, then at the tents and the burning camp fire.
"Where am I?" he stammered, weakly. "What's all this mean? Are we still at the front? Where's my khaki uniform like the ones you're wearing, and why have you put this old white one on me? It's a Spanish suit. I know because I've got one like it home. Who are you? I don't seem to recognize any of you boys."
What seemed next door to a miracle had been wrought! Elmer and Ted stared eagerly at each other as though they could hardly believe their senses.
"He's got his mind back again!" exclaimed Chatz, wildly exultant. "It must have been the crack on the head did it. I've heard of such things, but never thought I'd ever run up against a case. Why, he's as sensible as any of us, fellows!"
Elmer rushed forward, and stood over the recumbent man, who looked at him with a puzzled air.
"Your name is Ralph Oxley, isn't it?" asked the scout master, quietly.
"Yes, it is, but—" began the other, when Elmer raised his hand to stop him.
"I'll explain as near as I can to you," he went on to say. "You were hurt on the head a few years ago, and went out of your mind. Ever since your folks have kept you at home because they said you were not dangerous, but there was an attendant employed to look after you. Some weeks ago you escaped, and nobody has ever found where you went. They feared you had been drowned somewhere. But you must have had the idea you were a Spanish soldier escaped from an American prison, for you have been in hiding up here at the old Cartaret house, and getting what food you could by raiding the farms all around. We are Boy Scouts belonging at Hickory Ridge, and the other day when we were up here we thought we glimpsed somebody, but a few of my chums believed it was a ghost. Now we've come to spend our Thanksgiving holidays in camp. You had a bad tumble, striking your head again, and cutting it; but somehow it has brought you back to your right mind, Ralph Oxley."
The young man, who could hardly have been more than thirty-five years of age, though a veteran of the Spanish war, put up his hand, and felt of his head, wincing with the pain the contact gave him. A tinge of color was creeping back into his pale face, which Elmer was delighted to see.
"It is all a mystery to me," Ralph Oxley told them, shaking his head. "I have no recollection of doing anything like you say. In fact, the last thing I remember seems to be of riding out to look over a new farm my father had bought, and of my horse running away when some one shot close by the road. After that it is all a dead blank; and yet you say some years have passed since then?"
He seemed awed by the thought.
"That must have been where you were thrown, striking on your head, received the injury that caused your mind to become a blank," Elmer told him; while Doctor Ted nodded vigorously as though seconding the motion.
"But I'm in a terrible position, with only these thin clothes on, and no shoes or socks on my feet," remarked the man, who, now that he had returned to his senses, could apparently feel the sting of the cold air, something that doubtless he may not have been sensitive to before.
"Perhaps we can fix you up with something to tide over," Chatz told him. "Here's Lil Artha, whose feet must be the same size as yours, and I happen to know he brought a pair of new extra moccasins along, which he hasn't worn yet."
First one, and then another proposed lending Ralph certain garments, until in the end he was well taken care of. He even sat with them, propped up in a comfortable seat, and ate the dinner the scouts prepared, asking dozens of eager questions, many of which they were not able to answer, because they concerned his people, and none of the scouts happened to know them.
"I'm going to make a proposition to you, fellows," said Elmer, when they had finished their meal; "and here it is. You know Stackhouse is about eleven miles away from here, though twice that far from Hickory Ridge. My map shows a fairly decent road leading there. Suppose we pull up stakes and start for Mr. Oxley's home? We could make it before sunset, I should think. It's true that our camping trip would be cut short a day, but I'm sure I voice the sentiments of every fellow that we'll feel mighty well repaid for any little sacrifice like that when we turn in to the Oxley place and bring back their lost son, not what he was when he ran away, but clothed in his right mind. Everybody in favor of that move say aye!"
A chorus answered him in the affirmative; why, even that hardened objector, Doubting George, shouted with the rest; for once having apparently chosen to be what Toby called "civilized."
Ralph Oxley had tears in his eyes as he insisted on shaking hands with every one of the scouts.
"You're a fine lot of boys, let me tell you!" he declared, with deep feeling; "and I wouldn't accept your sacrifice only for my mother's sake. They ought to know the happy news as soon as possible. Every minute that I'm delayed is just so much more suffering for my dear parents; and a sweet girl too that I was going to marry when that accident came about. But I'll never forget it, fellows; and you'll hear from the Oxley family later on."
"Not a word about any money reward, suh!" cried Chatz, sternly; "we're scouts, and we'd scorn to accept anything in the way of pay for doing a thing like this. It's given us a heap more pleasure than anything that's happened for many moons, believe me, suh!"
"And to think," added Toby, with a beaming smile on his face, "my remarkable parachute came near holding up double weight. I really believe if only Mr. Oxley here hadn't managed to strike his head on that cornice when he fell, both of us would have landed without a scratch. And let me tell you that I think it's already shown what a life-saver it's bound to be."
"Hurrah for Jones, the greatest after Edison this country has ever produced," cried Lil Artha, pretending to wave his hat furiously.
They were soon all at work, and the tents came down with a rush, for long experience along these lines had made Elmer and his scouts clever hands at anything pertaining to camp life. Nancy was hitched up, and the wagon loaded. They made a comfortable seat with the tents and the blankets for the injured young man; and before an hour had elapsed, after finishing that last meal, they had said good-bye to the haunted house, and were on their way.
It was a long though not uninteresting afternoon ride; because they were passing over a district that was practically new to them.
Presently they overtook a young woman who was tripping along ahead of them. Just as Elmer was about to ask her something about the Oxleys she gave a shriek, and rushing to the tail-end of the wagon commenced to reach out toward the wounded passenger, calling his name in great excitement.
It developed, of course, that this was the same girl Ralph had been about to marry at the time of his unfortunate accident; and her wild delight at finding that the missing one had not only been found, but was restored to his proper senses as by a miracle, can better be imagined than described.
Shortly afterwards they turned in at the fine Oxley farm, and it was not long before the greatest excitement came about that had been known in that region for many a month. The mother had her boy in her arms, and was trying to laugh and cry at the same time; the father came running madly to the spot; and what with dogs barking, and people shouting, persons passing must have thought a lunatic asylum had broken loose.
The boys did not linger long after they had seen the family reunited; though everybody wanted to shower them with thanks, and praise for their having brought such happiness to the bereft home of the Oxleys. And Ralph assured them that he and the young woman who was to be his wife would certainly drive over to see the Hickory Ridge folks just as soon as he was able to be about again.
Well, as they were a long distance from home, with darkness near at hand, the boys determined to go as far along the road toward Hickory Ridge as Nancy could draw the load, and then proceed to camp somewhere for one night.
It was all a part of the outing, and no one appeared to regret having followed the generous dictates of their warm young hearts.
While their camp that night may not have been as comfortable as before, because of the lack of time to do certain things, they managed to get a fair amount of sleep. No doubt the consciousness of having responded to the demands of scout duty afforded them more or less solid satisfaction; for even George was heard to say, as they drew near the familiar home scenes on that quiet Sunday afternoon, it had been one of the best little outings the Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts had ever enjoyed; and it must needs be something beyond the ordinary that could coax this kind of stuff from Doubting George.
But that year was fated not to die out without Elmer and his chums being given another splendid opportunity to show what their scout training was worth, as the reader will discover upon securing the volume that follows this, and which is to be had under the title of "The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts Storm-Bound; or, A Vacation Among the Snow Drifts."
THE END
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This is a series of four books relating the adventures of two boys, who make a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They meet with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their adventures form a medium for the introduction of much instructive matter relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports of boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each chapter, there being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the author, and four striking halftones.
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LIST OF TITLES
| Ethel Morton at Chautauqua |
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| Ethel Morton's Enterprise |
| Ethel Morton at Sweet Brier Lodge |
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Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will appear.