Hugh, knowing that a start must be made somewhere, allowed himself to be led off.
“Keep along with me, boys,” he said to the others; “I may need your help.”
He knew that Arthur Cameron was likely to prove his mainstay in catering to the needs of these poor people who were in such distress. At the same time all of the other scouts were capable of doing more or less along the line of stopping a wound from bleeding, and binding it up after the recognized principles of field surgery—something to tide over an emergency until a better examination could be attempted by a regular surgeon.
A minute later and they reached a spot where a heavy-set old woman lay upon a dirty blanket. Several other women were gathered around. They had a tin basin with water in it, and seemed to be trying in their clumsy fashion to attend to the gunshot wound the woman had received.
Hugh took hold of the case immediately. When the eagerly watching padrone saw the business-like way of the boy as he started to wash the jagged cut in the upper arm, after which he proceeded, with Arthur’s assistance, to lessen the bleeding as he had been taught to do, a pleased look crept over that grim dark face.
“See how his earrings dance when he nods his head that way,” whispered Alec Sands to Billy. “He knows we can deliver the goods now. He approves of scouts as field surgeons. And say, let me tell you, the boys are making a bully job of that woman’s arm. It’s a nasty cut, all right, and I’d hate to tackle it alone, though I reckon I’d try to do my level best.”
When Hugh found that a point had been reached where he could safely leave the rest of the binding up to some of the others, he called upon Billy and Ralph to get busy.
“They say there is another man here who is badly hurt, and I’m afraid several others may be still lying out there on the field. We’ll try to rig up some kind of stretcher and get them here a little later. Alec, suppose you and Bud see if you can find some stuff to make one out of—poles, with bed ticking or burlap fastened across. It’ll be saving time, you know.”
“Only too glad, Hugh,” replied Alec, cheerfully; for he disliked inaction above all things, as many boys do. Give them something to do, let them feel that they are of some importance in the working out of plans, and they will show themselves eager to do their very best.
It was found that the man had been shot in the back. Hugh felt that he was badly hurt, though with care he might pull through. The boy had never attempted so serious a task as he now found on his hands, and he was glad that Arthur was there to back him up.