they were sweeping the nearer waters of the lake with the search-light whose limited range did not reach the scene of the disaster. and they were bellowing through the megaphone to the anxious rescue party on the raft that they could not pick out the spot; they were engrossed in these futile activities when the search-light picked out something else—something moving slowly, steadily, toward shore. a face, ghastly white in the surrounding blackness, was pictured by the long, groping column of dusky light. forward it moved toward the shore, slowly, steadily.
a slight adjustment of the long column revealed a less ghastly picture, a picture the meaning of which scouts knew well enough. bobbing alongside the advancing face was a head which seemed to have no connection with the nearby countenance. but the boys of temple camp could see in their minds’ eyes what was not visible under the water. that bobbing head was being held above the surface; the unseen body to which it belonged rested upon the buoyant support of an outstretched arm. nothing held this unconscious form, it just rested easily upon the arm and moved along. there was something uncanny about it; stark and appalling, it seemed to be riding on a spring.
the scouts had read about this sort of thing, this use of a single upholding human arm. but none of them had ever successfully practised it. now in the darkness of that wild night they saw the feat demonstrated, saw an apparently lifeless form, a dead weight, given the little balance of support to keep it up and guide it through the rough water. and the swimmer seemed hardly embarrassed by this load.
what the gaping crowd did not know was that the arm which acted as a girder was torn and bleeding and throbbing with grievous pain. what they did not know was that the same quiet, unobtrusive will that had caused wilfred cowell to stand still in the night and let another escape with the emblem of the single eye, was supporting him now amid storm and darting agony. no search-light could show that. for how could any search-light penetrate such a nature as his?
in a fine impulse, eloquent of admiration, several of the boys waded out chest deep and relieved the swimmer of his burden. that was how it happened that the hero reeled shoreward through the shallow water quite alone. with his torn and bleeding arm hanging at his side, he stumbled, caught himself, and went staggering up upon the grass, then fell heavily to the ground in a dead swoon. and so again, just as when he collapsed before his own home in bridgeboro, he was only half-conscious of the clamorous voices speaking his nickname as he sank into oblivion on the soft, wet grass.
they spoke it in tones aghast as they crowded about him, “it’s wandering willie.” some of them had not lingered at the other center of interest long enough to learn that it was the young doctor of camp whom wilfred had saved. nor to inquire the whys and wherefores of the young man’s unknown excursion in the storm. he was not dead, nor like to die, and the trend of excited interest and curiosity was toward that swelling, clamorous throng that closed in around the prostrate boy whom they had carried into the shelter of the pavilion.
one boy, unscoutlike in his rough determination, elbowed and wriggled his way through the crowd, and braving the frown of doctor anderson (who fortunately was visiting camp) kneeled over the dripping, outstretched form.
“is—he—he alive?” he asked.
“yes,” said the doctor quietly; “open a space here, you boys; let’s have some air.”
but the boy persisted. “is—will——”
“i think so, it depends,” said the doctor.
“do—do you know me?” asked the boy, foolishly addressing the unconscious form; “it’s wig—just—if you’ll——”
obedient to a new presence, as they had not been to the doctor, the group fell away to let an aggressive, striding young fellow pass through.
“you run along and help them get the stretcher for doc, wig,” said tom slade; “move back, you fellows.”
he sat down on the edge of the wicker couch on which they had laid the scout of no patrol while the scouts of all patrols lingered as near as they dared. the doctor, busy with the mangled arm, was preoccupied to the point of precluding questions. a scout came running with cotton and bandages. two others brought the stretcher from doc’s sanctum, and stood waiting.
another boy, visibly pleased that his inspiration was serviceable, handed a new croquet stake to the doctor. he had brought it and stood waiting with it. he saw it roughly taken from him and twirled around in a bandage above the elbow of the stricken boy’s arm.
tom, helpless in the face of professional routine and efficiency, sat quietly, and, there being nothing else for him to do, he stroked the forehead of the unconscious boy, and pushed up the strands of saturated hair, just as wilfred had so often brushed the rebellious wavy locks up from his forehead.
suddenly the eyes opened—roving, staring. and in their aimless moving they espied tom.
“eright?” a low, half-interested voice asked.
“sure, you’re all right,” said tom gently.
then there was a pause.
“right—orright?”
“sure, billy—be still. you’ll be all right.”
the eyes were fixed on tom in a weak but steady look of inquiry. there was a wistfulness in that barely conscious look.
“why, sure, you’re all right,” laughed tom.
“i don’t—i mean—not—i don’t mean that. i mean don’t—don’t mean will i get well—all right. i mean will i do? now will i do?”
tom’s brimming eyes looked at him—oh, such a look.
“yes, you’ll do, billy.”
the eyes closed.
then an interval of silence during which the doctor worked steadily, unheedful of the gaping throng standing at a respectful distance. tom sat silently, watching him.
“he’s pretty weak,” the doctor said. “i don’t see how he did it; he’s lost a lot of blood. anybody connected with him up here? just hold that loose end—that’s right.”
“only myself,” tom said, his hope sinking at the ominous question. “i found him, he’s mine. no, none of his people are up here. he has a mother and sister. had i better send for them?”
“i think it would be best,” said the doctor quietly.
tom arose, his heart sinking. he thought of wilfred, a lone figure in the camp, wandering about, unheeded, and now perhaps dying far from his own people. he blamed himself that he had brought wilfred to camp.
“shall i say—shall i just tell them to come up?”
“hmm,” said the doctor, still busy, “that’s right, yes. he’s pretty weak from the loss of blood.”
“could i be of any use in any way?” tom asked, hesitatingly.
“you mean you want to give your own blood?” the doctor asked bluntly.
“yes, i do—i meant that.”
“well, you’d better send for his folks anyway.”
“i’ll wire them,” tom said.
it was strange to see tom so dependent and obedient, he who always breezed in here and there with his cheery, offhand manner of authority. he seemed different from the scouts as they opened a way for him to pass through. but one sturdy, fearless soul ventured to address him.
“anyway, one thing, you picked a winner, that’s sure; gee whiz, you did that, tom. i ought to know because i picked lots of them myself. gee whiz, you picked a winner all right.”
tom cast a kind of worried smile at pee-wee as he hurried away. but it was better than no smile at all.
