[CHAPTER III]
A QUEER OLD MAN
“Here, Dr. Bounce!” called Jerry, as he and his chums laid the aged man down on a pile of car cushions, “here’s a man who needs your attention,” and the physician, who was hurrying past, stopped.
“Where did you find him?” he asked.
“Got him out of the wreck,” replied Ned.
“Well, you boys are certainly doing good work,” Dr. Bounce remarked. He bent over the old man and felt of his head. “Skull fractured,” he murmured. “Not much chance.”
By this time the ambulance which had made several trips came back, and in it the man the boys had saved was taken to the hospital, being one of the last to go.
Never before had there been such excitement in Cresville. The whole town was aroused, and every one offered some aid to the wounded. There were a number taken to private houses, and cared for there, as the hospital was a small one.
Soon the wrecking crew came, the men working rapidly to get the tracks cleared. Because the smash had occurred in the cut there was no chance to build a temporary track around it, as is sometimes done.