At least, he allowed the subject to drop as though he did not wish to say anything further in that line, which was so unpleasant. He confined himself to petting Conrad, and giving Lil Artha further directions as to just how to finish his task; for, as a competent woodsman, Jem Shock knew all about the use of an ax. Elmer could see that, despite his agonizing condition, the man had kept his wits about him.
Finally, the limb separated, and after that the boys, by uniting their strength, were enabled to raise the portion that still held Jem pinned down. He wriggled free, although the pain was so great that he almost fainted.
After that, Elmer took charge again. Water was brought, and a fire made to warm it in the pail Alec had been told to carry along. Once it was heated, Elmer proceeded to cleanse first Jem's face, so that he might not look so terribly grim; and after that he started to get at the broken leg.
He found that it was indeed pretty serious, for it had swollen dreadfully on account of the neglect; but Elmer was a pretty good amateur surgeon, as his chums all knew, and understood just how to go about setting the fractured bone, after carefully washing the limb.
Alec and Rufus had their hands full just about that time. They did not want to lose a single thing of all that was going on around them, and were often called upon by Elmer to lend a helping hand. It was noticeable that Rufus was always the one to do this. Jem seemed to visibly shrink from the touch of the boy's fingers, as though they affected him somehow; but even this aversion failed to prevent Rufus from persevering. Evidently, he was determined that Jem should know that the Snodgrass family did not have all the bad traits with which he, Jem, had in his mind endowed them; and, besides, Rufus was bound to keep in close touch with the man who had so long believed ill of his father.
It pleased Elmer more than a little to notice this trait in the tenderfoot. He believed Rufus had the making of a good scout, and that association with the other fellows of the troop would in time serve to cast out the bad traits in his character mainly produced through the mistaken weakness of his adoring mother, who had always given in to his every whim.
But the wonderfully clever way in which Elmer managed to handle that broken leg, and then bind it up carefully, was not the only thing Rufus and Alec had to watch in their ardent desire to acquire practical knowledge of what a scout should know.
There was the industrious Lil Artha, working away like a trooper, and making a rude but amply sufficient stretcher, on which the wounded man could recline, while four sturdy boys bore him toward his home, since it would be utterly impossible for Jem to even hobble, with that injured limb under him.
Both greenhorns watched the stretcher grow, and marveled at the skill displayed by the accomplished Lil Artha, who felt proud to be the one to show them how easy it was for a fellow who had been taught to bring his knowledge into play when the emergency arose.
Finally everything was done. Elmer had bound the leg up so firmly that Jem was full of praise for his work.