Adventure, November 1915 — page 90: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“a 88 himself wondering if they’d ever reach their destination. Once or twice Pierre shook him. Once he lost consciousness for a mo- ment, and regained it to find that Pierre was holding a flask to his lips, pouring brandy down his throat. They staggered on, and after a time left the lake and struck into the forest again. They stumbled over rocks and logs half buried in the snow, sometimes to fall. And finally they reached a tiny clearing, across which they could see a point of light. Pierre gave a cry of thankfulness. Small aroused himself, felt in his pocket, where he had put his revolver while they were out on the lake, and found that the weapon was safe. He bit at his lips, shook his head, beat his hands against his body. Pierre led him to the door of the cabin and threw it open, and they stuggered in. Small saw a man in a bunk—a man who moaned and tossed as if in delirium. He saw a lamp burning on the table, saw a fire that needed more wood; then the room seemed to spin around him, and he started to fall. Pierre caught him. He regained consciousness to find that Pierre had stripped off his coat, gloves and muffler, his boots, and even his socks. He was before the fire, on the floor, and the logs Pierre had hurled on the coals were blazing merrily. The guide had mixed brandy with hot water, and was giving it to him. “Be ze man!’ Pierre was whispering “You do ver’ well on trip here. You make “Me come to ze house of my enemy. Now brace up; do your work!” He helped Small to his feet. ‘Keep the fire hot,” the little man gasped: He staggered to the fire and stood before it for a moment, then, working rapidly, he stripped off the remainder of his wet clothes, spreading them on the floor before the fire, and telling Pierre to do the same. He opened the medicine-case, looked at the contents, took out a roll of bandage cloth and.a vial or two. Then he went to the bunk where Jacques Rancour was tossing and moaning. “Help me get his clothes off, Pierre,’”’ he ordered. “T do not’ing, m’sieu. here because you make me. Zis es no place forme. I stay here until you are done, an’ oo you back. But I do not’ing else to e ? ‘Very well, you brutel’’ I haf guide you “e pee eS SS SH aie ae hgh nr as Se a FO ae Se i Meare - AAS Cacti : ~ Adventure Small stopped for a moment to brush his hand over his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and began his work. V a AFTERWARD, Sylvester Small = could not tell how he did it. But he managed to get the clothes off Jacques Rancour and make an examination. The man’s body was a mass of bruises. One leg was broken and one arm, and there was a fractured rib. Also, there had been a bad blow on the head. Pierre sat before the fire drying himself and turning Small’s clothes over now and then and spreading them out anew. Small went into the tiny rear room of the cabin and found a cracker box. He made splints of it. Then he gave Rancour an injection of morphine. At times Small could scarcely keep from falling. He felt weak, felt that he wanted to throw himself in a bunk and go to sleep. But always-he nerved himself to go on with his work. He was very slow, however, and Pierre would not help. Small set the leg and arm and bound the splints on them. He took several stitches in a cut on Rancour’s cheek. He bathed the bruises and dressed them as well as he could, and tried to make his patient comfortable in the hunk. There was no more he could do, then. So he went back to the fire and faced Pierre. “Can’t you cook something?” he asked. “Not in thees cabin, m’sieu.” “T want it—something hot. almost all in.” “T can touch not’ing here, m’sieu.”’ “I’m out of patience with you, Pierre. I don’t like the way you’ve acted this night. V’ll not stand much more of it. We came here through the storm, risked our lives, to help thisman. I’ve done all I can, and now it is my privilege to attend to myself—and to you. I’ve got to have something hot to eat—some soup, broth, even beans and ba- con willdo. And xouFe got to have some- thing!” “T do not eat zis man’s food!”’ “Ffe’ll not care, after what we’ve done for him.” “Et es not zat. I would not eat a mouth- ful, m’sieu, if he offer et on hees bended knee.” Vm—l’m (eC) IOOK (CO) S|