Woodcraft: or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good

Matt Tubbs had been watching what he did with apparently the greatest curiosity. He was utterly ignorant himself about everything that pertained to first aid to the injured, and perhaps never before had felt so utterly insignificant as when he saw Elmer Chenowith go about the duties of a doctor with such calm assurance.

Jasper had run off in obedience to a request from the scout leader, and now returned with some cold water. When Elmer had dashed a little of this in the face of the farmer, the injured man came to his senses. His groans ceased, though they could see from the expression on his rugged face that he was suffering severely.

"It's all right, Mr. Kent," Elmer hastened to say in that convincing way of his, as the farmer looked at him inquiringly. "You've got a broken arm, and perhaps a couple of your ribs are out of the running for a while, but you'll pull through all to the good. I'm going to do what I can while Matt rides off for Dr. Cooper."

"Oh! it's you, Elmer, is it?" said the man, faintly. "But how d'ye know I ain't got my death in that wreck of my barn? I feel like I'd been through a threshing machine; on'y my left arm is numb."

"I've had some experience with these things, Mr. Kent, up in Canada. Besides, sir, we belong to the Boy Scouts movement, and one of the things taught there is what we call 'first aid to the injured.' I could set your arm all right, but since the doctor can get here soon, I'd better leave it for him. He mightn't like my meddling too much with his practice. Will you ask Matt to please find the horse, and start for town?"

"Oh! I'm agoin', all right," said that worthy, arousing himself; for he had been staring at Elmer all this while, and listening to what he said about the obligations of the scouts in time of need, as though he might be hearing something that astonished him.

He glanced back several times as he walked away to look for the horse, that was doubtless in some corner of the lot beyond the demolished barns.

"Got something to think over, I reckon," grunted Larry, who had closed up like a clam when Matt answered his civil question so roughly.

Shortly afterward they heard a shout. Then Matt dashed past, riding bareback on the horse, and using the halter to guide him along the road. He went flying toward town, and they knew he would send the doctor before a great while.

"Here, fellows, Mr. Kent ought to be carried into the house," said Elmer, turning to his chums. "We've got to make a litter to lay him on. Come over here with me, and we'll knock one together in a jiffy."

"Sure we will!" declared Larry, who had a warm heart, even though a bit inclined to quarrel at times, being quick-tempered.

There was plenty of material lying around; the storm had seen to that when it tore things loose on the Kent farm. And presently the scouts came back with some boards forming a very fair litter. Elmer had covered it with several horse blankets he discovered in the partly demolished barn.

But the farmer was getting back his strength again. He shook his head at sight of the litter, and a slight smile appeared on his face, much to the joy of his sadly frightened wife and daughter.

"I reckon I ain't so bad off as to need that, Elmer," he remarked. "Now, if so be ye boys draw around, and take care not to handle that left arm too rough, p'raps I could manage to get up. Arter that, with some help, I'll hobble to the house. Don't ye look so peaked, wife; I'm better'n ten dead men yet."

They helped him to rise, and then, leaning on Elmer, with the others following close behind, eager to assist, they made their way slowly to the farm building.

"Oh! what would we have done only for the coming of you boys?" exclaimed Mrs. Kent, after they had managed to get the wounded farmer seated fairly comfortably in a big sleepy hollow chair.

Elmer was making a sling in which the broken arm could be held, to ease the pain and the strain until Dr. Cooper's arrival.

"Does this scouting teach you boys how to do that sort of thing?" asked the grown daughter, who had been watching these actions of the boys curiously.

"It is one of the things we have to learn before we can hope to become first-class scouts," the boy replied. "You see, no one can ever tell when a scout may be called on to help bring back a person to life who has been nearly drowned, or to keep another from bleeding to death after being cut with an ax in camp; then besides, sometimes boys have to be rescued when they get a cramp while in swimming. And when a fellow knows how to go about these things, he may be able to help save a human life. We think it worth while."

"I should say it was!" exclaimed Miss Kent, enthusiastically. "After this I'm going to take more interest in boys than I have. I always thought they were as much alike as peas in a pod; and perhaps I oughtn't to say it, because he's in our family, but you see, I somehow judged all boys by my Cousin Matt."

Elmer smiled.

"Well," he said, nodding, "I hope that when you come to look into this a little closer, Miss Julia, you'll understand that it stands for big things. My father says it's the greatest movement for the uplifting of American boys that ever happened, barring none. And I'm going to send you some printed matter that will tell you just what the Boy Scouts aim to do. When you know that, I just guess you'll find reason to change your opinion of boys."

Even the injured farmer had listened to what was said with a show of interest.

"Sho! Elmer," he remarked, "I've heard a heap of this thing, and didn't take much stock in it. Thought it meant the boys was goin' to be made into soldiers, and as I'm a man of peace I couldn't stand for that. On'y yesterday the dominie was tellin' me it ain't got a blessed thing to do with military tactics. And arter the able way you handled yourself to-day, blessed if I ain't agoin' to read the stuff you send Julie. If I had a boy I'd like him to jine the scouts. And that's as far as I've got. But if it makes the lads clean, manly, and ekal to emergencies, like you seem to be, it's a boss thing."

And Elmer felt his heart glow with satisfaction, for his whole interest was by now bound up in the success of the Hickory Ridge troop of scouts; and anything that went to make them new friends appealed to him strongly.

When half an hour had gone the sound of an automobile horn was heard out on the road.

"There comes Dr. Cooper!" called Jasper, who had been on the lookout.

When the physician came bustling in he looked questioningly at the three boys. Possibly Matt may have told him the scouts were meddling with things, and his professional instincts were shocked. But when he saw what Elmer had done, and made an examination himself, he declared that the extent of Mr. Kent's injuries were just as the boy had stated.

"And I want to say, Elmer," he added, as the boys were about to hurry away, "I believe in the first-aid-to-the-injured principle which you boys try to live up to. If more people only kept their senses about them in cases of accident, it would make easier work for the doctors, and save lots of lives. Good luck to you, boys!"

"And we shall never be able to tell you how thankful we all are for your coming, Elmer. The first time I meet your mother, I'm going to let her know what a fine son she has," declared Miss Julia, as she and her relieved mother shook hands with the three scouts at the door.

"I had two comrades, please remember, Miss Julia," said Elmer, significantly; and taking the hint she repeated the words while bidding Jasper and Larry good-by.

"Well," remarked Elmer, as he and his chums once more tramped along the road, "I notice that you two fellows have your badges turned upside down still, to remind you that so far to-day you've found no opportunity to do anybody a good turn. As your scout master, I want to say that you can't get them changed any too soon; for you've just been of the greatest help to the Kent family!"

And both Larry and Jasper, making the usual scout salute, with the thumb holding back the little finger of the right hand, proceeded to unfasten their badges, and replace them right side up.

They had earned the privilege to wear them so for the balance of that eventful day!

CHAPTER V.

THE MEETING IN THE OLD WAGON SHOP

"About time to begin business, don't you think, Mark?" asked Elmer Chenowith.

"Just about on the minute; and I've been counting noses, Mr. Scout-master; there are eighteen fellows present – not a single gap in the line," answered his chum.

"That's fine. We'll get our four new members through to-night, and have two complete patrols, with a third well started. Suppose you sound the assembly, Mark, and we'll close the doors. While the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts doesn't pretend to be a secret society, there's no reason why we should have every Tom, Dick, and Harry gaping in at us, and listening to all we say."

Elmer and his closest chum, Mark Cummings, were standing inside the old abandoned wagon-maker's shop that for long years had been a landmark at the crossroads just outside the town of Hickory Ridge.

Half a dozen and more lighted lanterns hanging from beams or the low rafters dissipated the darkness of the cobwebby interior; for the once busy shop had been deserted some years now.

A bustling, laughing, chattering crowd of half-grown boys occupied the place; and all but four of them were clad in the customary olive drab khaki uniform of the scouts, met with in every part of this wide country, between the Pacific and the Atlantic, and from the Great Lakes of the north to the Mexican Gulf on the south.

Mark carried a bugle at his side, and was quite a genius as a musician. Indeed, there were few musical instruments he could not play; and when in camp the boys looked to him to enliven the evenings around their fire with bugle, banjo, or mandolin.

Another member of the troop was the official drummer; but as yet he had not secured an instrument on which to sound the long roll. But they lived in hopes of soon supplying this need, as there was good money in the treasury.

When the sweet, clear notes of the bugle sounded the assembly call, the chattering ceased. Obedience is one of the first principles inculcated in the breast of a scout; and Elmer, as the president of the association, had always insisted upon the meeting being conducted with a fair amount of decorum.

First came the roll call, when it was found that every member was present, showing that the meeting was deemed an especially important one.

True, several of the boys looked a bit tired, notably Jasper, who had hardly been able to get out of his chair after supper, and was obliged to exert more than the ordinary amount of will power before he could reach the place of meeting.

A little routine program was first of all gone through with, such as marked each meeting of the troop – a song that was patriotic in its character sung, with considerable vim, for there were some really good voices present; after which the commendable trait of patriotism was further carried along by a salute to the flag which stood at one end of the dingy old wheelwright's shop, where all eyes could fall upon its starry blue field and warm red stripes.

"I'm sorry to state," said Elmer, in opening the meeting, "that our capable scout-master was unable to be with us to-night, as a sudden business call took him to New York last night. So we'll have to conduct the exercises without him. And as the most important part of our meeting is the initiation of four new members who have lately expressed a desire to unite with the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts, it would be in order for a motion that we proceed immediately to complete that function."

"I move, Mr. President, we go about that business," suggested "Lil Artha" Stansbury, who had curled his long legs under him, and managed to sit down on a low stool he had found somewhere; the balance of the boys being disposed of in all sorts of ways, some on worn wooden "horses," others on blocks of wood, makeshift benches, and even on the bare ground.