The first thing the scouts noticed after that one glance around at the damage done by the gale, was that a little group of persons seemed to be hovering over a certain spot.
"Somebody hurt by the storm!" Elmer called over his shoulder, for, being a good runner, he had easily taken the lead—Jasper was not so very strong, while Larry happened to be built much too stockily for a sprinter.
Then the boys received another shock. One of those bending over had straightened up, and proved to be a stout-looking boy, with a bold, resolute face.
Perhaps Jasper may have been reminded of the old saying he had heard quoted in his home many times: "Speak of an angel, and you'll feel his wings;" only no one who knew Matt Tubbs would ever dream of comparing that quarrelsome youth with a celestial visitor; in fact, their thoughts would be more apt to go out in the other direction.
Two women were wringing their hands, and crying. A man lay upon the ground, and his groans told that he was suffering considerable bodily pain.
"Don't I wish Ted Burgoyne was along!" exclaimed Elmer involuntarily, as he hurried toward the group.
The boy mentioned belonged to the Wolf Patrol. He seemed to possess a natural fancy for surgery, and had long ago been dubbed Dr. Ted by his mates. And in numerous instances had he proved that their confidence in him was not misplaced.
That was why Elmer now felt keen regret because of a lost opportunity for the young Boy Scout medicine man to show his skill at setting broken bones, or binding up other injuries almost as well as any experienced physician could have done.
Elmer himself had made it a point to know something about such things. He had in the past lived a wild life out in the great Canada wilderness, where men, and boys, too, find it necessary to depend upon themselves in great emergencies.
Although he feared he might be somewhat clumsy, and certainly lacked the natural talent Ted Burgoyne had always shown, the scout leader was only too willing to do whatever lay in his power to alleviate suffering.