“It’s only a little way to the burned cabin,” he said. “I’ve turned the car around, and if we can lift him easily I am sure the car won’t jounce very much getting back to the main road. Come on, Luke.”
“Do be careful, Neale!” begged Agnes.
“You girls take the little folks on ahead,” advised Luke. “Then Neale and I will bring Mr. Pendleton.”
The boys waited until the others were gone before touching the injured man. The latter muttered:
“I am afraid something is broken. I don’t know how much handling I can stand. Ah! This is awful!”
And it was true that when Luke and Neale raised him from the ground the poor man screamed aloud and instantly fainted.
The injured man remained unconscious until the boys got him into the automobile. The Kenway car was a big, seven-passenger machine. But when the whole party was in it, it certainly was crowded.
Luke held the sinking form of Mr. Pendleton upright against the cushions. He was glad the man was unconscious. The older girls tried to hush the weeping Pendleton children. The three other little folks were in front with Neale O’Neil, and even Sammy Pinkney was subdued.
Neale drove the car as carefully as possible, and in half an hour it stopped before the little cottage on Plane Street. There was a telephone next door, and before even the older boys carried the injured man into the house, Ruth had called their family physician, Dr. Forsyth.
“And remember, Doctor,” the girl said firmly, “whatever the bill is, it is a Kenway bill. You understand?”