He managed it, however, using only his feet and elbows. Now his head was alongside Bill’s knees and he could reach up and force the slime between the rubble and his friend’s shoulders. Bill understood what Ronnie was attempting to do, for he worked his body about to spread the application. Inch by inch Bill squirmed his way backward—and suddenly he was free.
Then something happened that Ronnie hadn’t foreseen. Bill’s shoulders came free so unexpectedly that before either Bill or Ronnie could check the momentum, Bill had lost his balance. His body slipped backward, struck the side of a concrete slab and landed on the culvert floor with one leg doubled under him.
Phil was already kneeling beside Bill’s body by the time Ronnie had climbed down. The light from the flashlight was on Bill’s face. “My leg. Oh, Ronnie, my leg!” Bill groaned and grimaced from the pain. Sweat broke out on his forehead in large drops. His lips were purple-blue and his face was as white as the sweat shirt he was wearing.
“Ronnie,” Bill whispered, “Ronnie, please. Do something for me. Please, do something.”
Chapter 16
Ronnie stooped down beside his friend and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. “Sure, Bill, we’ll have you fixed up in no time,” he said.
He took Bill’s raincoat and covered him with it, wrapping it around underneath as far as he dared without moving the injured leg. Then he set to work massaging Bill’s wrists and limbs to restore the circulation. And all the while he worked, he was glad for those hours of practice and study that he’d given to learning first aid at Scout meetings and at home. His first-aid merit badge was proving its worth!
He looked up at Phil. “Down the culvert I saw some boards that must have washed in one time or another. I’ll need a couple of splints. Go get them.”
Phil nodded. Ronnie handed him the flashlight, and his brother moved off down the culvert. Ronnie continued chafing Bill’s wrists in the dark. He could feel the rapid pulse and knew that his friend was in slight shock. He’d have to treat that first. The leg could wait. He continued to massage Bill’s limbs and arms.
Phil returned with an armful of boards. Ronnie signaled for him to drop them and to take over the job that he had been doing. The flashlight showed that the color was beginning to return to Bill’s face. His pulse was slowing down to normal now, too.