“No, they saved about half of it. Your room and the rooms on that side are all right, except that they’re horribly messy and smelly. By the way, we found your suitcase and a lot of things you threw out and they’re downstairs. They say they’re going to pull Morris down entirely and put up a brick dormitory there big enough to hold fifty fellows. They had a wild time finding places to put the crowd. Some of them slept in the gym. Standart’s in the infirmary with his insides scorched and feeling pretty mean, I reckon. I dare say you know that you’re a sort of hero today, Monty.”
“Am I? No, I didn’t know it. I don’t feel heroic,” he added croakingly. “Didn’t do anything heroic, either. I went back up there to get some of my things out and only came across Standart by accident. Guess he’d fiddled around too long and then had a fright when he tried to get out. Or else the smoke was too much for him. Anyway, he wasn’t saying anything when I found him. What are you grinning at?”
“I was just thinking that it was sort of funny,” laughed Leon. “You were going to knock him into a cocked hat, and instead of that you saved his silly life.”
“Couldn’t do anything else, could I?” growled Monty. “Couldn’t leave him there, naturally. Is he bad?”
“N-no, he will be all right in a few days, they say. Has a bit of fever now. Reckon he was scared more than he was hurt. Say, you’re coming in with Seymour and me tomorrow. I saw Rumford about it. Lots of the fellows are doubling up.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Monty vaguely. “I’m kind of confused. I was going to back-trail, today, wasn’t I?”
“No, you just thought you were,” replied Leon carelessly. “Fate had a different plan, you see.”
“Fate, eh?” Monty considered that. “Well, I don’t know. I suppose I might as well stick it out now, though. My things are all sprinkled around the landscape, I guess. Did the other fellows save anything?”
“Some of them. Ordway told me to tell you he was sorry and that you were to buck up, whatever he meant. They say Manson’s going back on the team, by the way.”
“He is? I wish he wouldn’t.”