It was a remarkable freak of fate, and Elmer found himself wondering what the outcome of it all might be.
Lil Artha had quietly replaced his Marlin in the corner when he first glimpsed that tortured arm, for he realized then that there was going to be no need of weapons. When Uncle Caleb called for a kettle of warm water he was the first to leap to his feet and place one on the fire; while Toby, just as eager to help, began to brew the coffee.
This latter was ready even before the kettle began to sing, and Uncle Caleb himself poured a brimming cup of the beverage, which he handed to the wounded man. No doubt Zack Arnold needed some stimulant the worst kind. He must have exhausted his pet flask on the way, for he did not seem to have a drop about him; and when the fragrant Java beverage was placed in his possession he swallowed the contents of the big aluminum cup in great gulps, as though his throat might be made of cast iron, which no hot stuff could scald.
Uncle Caleb asked no questions. He must know very well what had brought this revengeful guide so far out of his beaten track; but to see him tenderly washing that arm, and then gently setting the broken bones, after which he bound it up with a splint almost as well as any professional surgeon could, you might have thought he was attending his best friend instead of a bitter enemy.
Lil Artha could hardly keep his eyes off the man's face. He, too, had finally managed to grasp the same idea that had come long before to Elmer; and now he wondered again and again what the outcome of this remarkable adventure was going to be. He even chuckled a little to himself as he saw those eyes of Zack following Uncle Caleb back and forth, as the other went to get more bandages, or it might be the soothing salve which he wished to rub upon several ugly black-and-blue spots visible on the left side of the brawny woodsman.
"Huh! I've heard before about heaping coals of fire on your enemy's head," Lil Artha whispered to Elmer, when he found a good chance, "but I never just understood what it meant. Now I know to a fraction. Say, did you ever hear of such a queer thing in all your life? And I bet you he was coming up here to make a lot of trouble for Toby's uncle, too. Well, this is an object lesson for scouts, ain't it, Elmer?"
"Just as you say, Lil Artha, but better not try and talk any more about it. He might hear something you wouldn't want him to. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and you'll be well paid."
So after that the tall scout sat still and kept on the alert. He was enjoying things exceedingly. In fact he could not remember having ever felt such a keen interest in anything before as he did in this coming of Zack Arnold to the cabin of his hated enemy, and under such queer conditions.
When in the end Uncle Caleb finished attending to his injured guest, and with the help of Elmer the guide's sweater had been secured in such fashion that it gave him the required warmth, he seemed to remember something else looking to the comfort of Zack Arnold.
"Do you think you could manage to eat something if we cooked it for you, Zack?" he asked, with such an earnest manner that the man writhed in his seat, and his eyes fell in what Lil Artha believed to be utter shame, though he quickly spoke up in reply.