When presently they came to one of the poor fellows who had received so serious a wound, the boys waited with more or less concern while the surgeon made his examination. Hugh could see that he looked grave, and this fact convinced him of the seriousness of the case. It also told the scout master that he had acted wisely in wiring to the Red Cross to send help, so as to relieve the inexperienced scouts from further responsibility.
“He is in a bad way,” remarked Dr. Richter, as he bent back toward Hugh. “It would be little short of downright murder to carry him back over those rough roads, even in our splendid ambulance. I’m afraid we’ll have to make an emergency hospital out of it here if, as you say, there are several more cases like this. Those who can stand the trip may be taken away, with one of the nurses in charge; the other I will keep by me for the present.”
So they went from one to another, and Dr. Richter was pleased to continue saying how delighted he felt over the fact that boys could make themselves so useful in case of need like that which had arisen.
“It does you great credit in the first place, let me tell you, Mr. Scout Master,” he said, “that you and your chums decided to hurry over here on the run to lend a helping hand. I never fully understood what the Boy Scout movement stood for up to now; but after seeing what you have done, from this time on it is going to have my unqualified approval. Wherever I can, I shall tell just how I was converted to standing up for such a noble purpose in life.”
“There’s another cloud of dust up the road yonder, Hugh,” said Alec at this interesting juncture. “We’re all wondering whether a second ambulance corps could have been sent out from some other town to render aid. If it happens that way they might as well turn around and go back home; for first come first served, you know, and we’ve turned everything over to the Red Cross.”
“I can see a couple of big touring cars,” ventured Billy Worth, “and say, they seem to be full of men at that. If they’re all doctors and nurses we’ll be fairly swamped with workers.”
“That man in the leading car seems to have some sort of a silver badge pinned on his breast,” remarked Alec. “I tell you what it means, boys; p’raps he’s the big officer of the county, the sheriff; and that’s a posse he’s sworn in to accompany him here to keep the peace!”
“Alec, you’ve hit it square on the head that time,” added Ralph Kenyon, excitedly. “That’s just what those men are—a sheriff’s posse!”
CHAPTER II.
AN EMERGENCY HOSPITAL.
“Listen!” said Bud Morgan, “I just heard the padrone here, who is in charge of these foreigners, say that man with the gray mustache is Mr. Campertown, who owns the cement works. They’re not feeling very kindly toward him, and perhaps it’s as well that he comes here protected by a sheriff’s armed posse.”