As he spoke, Dick placed two hands gently under the constable’s broad shoulders, and supporting the wounded man’s head against his own body, raised the limp, but still breathing, form to a more upright position.
“He may be mortally wounded,” he declared in a stricken voice. “We must do something quickly. We’ll have to take him back to Wandley’s post.”
Toma quickly unbuttoned the policeman’s tunic. A red stain colored the cloth beneath. With his hunting knife, the young guide slit open the shirt and undergarment, revealing the wound itself—a dangerous one, a few inches below the right arm-pit.
As Dick well knew, every member of the mounted police force was required to carry a first-aid kit. Acting upon this knowledge, he and Toma hurriedly went through the stricken man’s pockets until they discovered the object of their search. Absorbent cotton, bandages, adhesive tape and a small bottle of disinfectant were yanked out of the container and placed in handy proximity. Toma began the work of dressing the wound with the calm deliberateness of an experienced surgeon. At the end of a few minutes he straightened up, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Mebbe by do that we help save his life,” he murmured hopefully. “Next thing—how we get him back to Wandley’s? Constable Pearly him too big to tie on horse. What you think?”
The boys looked from one to the other in dismay. How indeed, was this imperative task to be accomplished. Dick thrust his hands disconsolately in his pockets, unable to think of any adequate plan. Sandy dismounted and strode forward.
“Do you suppose that we could place him on one of the smaller ponies,” he suggested, “and support him by riding on either side—three horses abreast? It seems to be the only way. We could link our arms in his and drive carefully.”
Dick and Toma remained thoughtful for a moment, considering Sandy’s plan.
“It may work,” Dick decided. “At any rate, we must do something quickly.”
To raise the limp and heavy figure to the saddle proved to be a difficult task. The ponies snorted and swung back. Dick was almost in despair before they finally succeeded in getting the wounded man in place and had made a start for Wandley’s post. He rode on one side of the policeman and Toma on the other. Long before they had traversed the first few hundred yards, their arms ached from the burden. Also some difficulty was experienced in keeping the ponies together.