Page:Hendryx--Connie Morgan with the Mounted.djvu/65

Rh a moment the boy gazed at the widening stain that reddened the tattered undergarment, and then, working swiftly with his sheath knife, he bared the injured leg and saw that his worst fears were realized. At the lower termination of the scars the leg was broken where the weight of the twelve-hundred-pound monster had rested for a moment in his wild stampede. Thanks to the strong cloth of the Service trousers and the thickness of the undergarment, the gashes were not deep, and after a careful bathing with ice-water the flow of blood was staunched and the wounds bound up.

With the aid of Ick Far, a babiche line, and a small sapling for a lever, Connie at length succeeded in setting the bones and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the injured member bound tightly in splints. As the last bandage was drawn into place, McKeever opened his eyes and stared foolishly about.

“What—happened?” he asked, weakly.

“Oh, nothing—much,” grinned Connie. “A wounded grizzly wanted to rampse over the spot where you were standing—and he rampsed.”

“I saw him—comin’,” muttered the Sergeant,