Surely those boys, and the others as well standing near by, must have felt that they were amply repaid for any trouble they had taken thus far, when they saw how this tough-looking old foreigner actually had tears in his eyes as he tried to tell them that their noble work was appreciated.
“Everything seems to be going on decently but one case,” Hugh was saying to Arthur, “and I’m afraid that poor fellow is in a bad way.”
“It all depends on what course the bullet took after it started in,” said the other scout, seriously. “It would be next door to a miracle if it skipped striking any vital part. But that can only be determined after probing, and it may require an examination with the X-rays to locate the bullet, which, you know, didn’t pass out again.”
There was little time for talking, however. Their patients required so much attention that it kept them on the move almost constantly. Of course, the other scouts were only too willing to assist to the extent of their ability; but lacking the practical experience of Hugh and Arthur, their powers were limited at the best.
What made it hard was the inability of the foreigners to understand what was needed, and to supply these wants after they did comprehend. Their miserable shacks seemed to contain next to nothing, and when Hugh had made the padrone realize that more cotton or muslin was required, it was only the merest luck in the world that one woman happened to have a few yards fresh from the store laid by, which she ungrudgingly brought forth.
About this time Ralph made his appearance again. Hugh could see from the satisfied look on his face that he had succeeded in his errand.
“Got it off all right, did you, Ralph?” he asked.
“Yes. The operator didn’t like the idea of sending it at first. I think the people at the works must have telegraphed a tame account of the fight, so as to have the news broken gradually. But I told him he would be held accountable if any of the wounded died, and might end his days in prison; so he finally agreed.”
“I hope he wasn’t saying that just to get rid of you?” ventured Hugh.
“Oh, I was smart enough for that,” chuckled Ralph, nodding his head, sagely. “I just waited around after telling him that I was a telegrapher, too, and I heard him send her O. K. Depend on it, Hugh, your message is being delivered in Farmingdale right at this minute, I make a guess.”