“And he built this shelter to die in!” faltered Alex. “I wonder if he will ever come back to consciousness?”
The shelter had evidently been constructed by the injured boy with the intention of resting for a time after his bungling attempt at leg-setting. The food he had brought there had been set out in orderly array within reach of his arm as he lay on his couch of foliage, and a dish of water—a two-quart basin which forest travelers sometimes use to cook in—sat not far away. An attempt had been made to build a fire near the hut, but this had not proved a success. Burned matches lay around, but none of the dry sticks had caught fire.
“He was making a fight for life, all right, poor little chap!” Clay said, wiping a suspicious moisture from his eyes.
“I reckon he called to us with his last strength,” Case muttered.
“I’m afraid so!” Clay answered. “Well, how are we going to get him to the boat without causing him great suffering? He ought to be moved right away, before he comes back to his senses.”
“I’ll run back to the Rambler and bring a long board there is under one of the bunks,” Case suggested. “Then we’ll carry him on that, just as if it was a stretcher. We’ll give him his old bed in the cabin, and when he comes to he’ll be so glad to get back that he won’t know he’s got a broken leg!”
The boy was away like a shot, and presently returned with the board.
Gran was lifted gently on the improvised stretcher and carried, as gently as the uneven nature of the ground would permit, to the boat. He did not open his eyes during the removal, and the boys became frightened, fearing that he was indeed dead. Alex hustled around and had water on the stove heating in short order.
“He’s got to have hot water on that leg,” he said. “I guess I can take that swelling down a little. Now, do you think you can tell, either of you, how bad the injury is, and whether the bone is splintered or just broken short off?”
Clay cautiously applied a hand to the injured limb, feeling on both sides of the splints. In a second he looked up with a smile on his white face and added more fuel to the fire so as to hasten the heating of the water. Case and Alex looked at him questioningly.