The Monticellonian., 1918-04-12


 his head over the thought of riding tif- teen miles with those broken bones grinding their edges together. And still, what else could he do?
 He reached out, took the reins and led Rattler step nearer so that he could grasp the stirrup. With his voice he held the horse quiet while he pulled himself upright upon his good leg. Then, with pain hurried, jerky move ments he pulled off the saddle, glanced around him and flung it behind bucn brush. He slipped off the bridle, flung that after the saddle and gave Rattler a slap on the rump. The horse moved away and Ward stared after him with set lips. Anyway, you can look after yourself" he said, and balanced upon his right leg while he swung around and faced the cabin. It was not far to a man with two sound legs. A hun dred yards, pc haps.
 Ward crawled there on his hands and one knee, dragging the broken leg after him. It was not a nice experience, but it served one good purpose-it wiped from his mind all thought of that black past wherein Buck had figured so shamefully. He had enough to think of with his present plight, without wor- rying over the past.
 In half an hour or so Ward rested his arms upon his own doorstep and drop ped his perspiring face upon then. He lay there long while in dead faint.
 After awhile he moved, lifted his head and looked about him duly at first and then with q certain stoical accept ance of his plight. He looked into the immediate future and tried to forecast it's demands upon his strength and to prepare for them. He crawled farther up on the step, reached the latch and opened the door. He crawled in, pulled himself up by the foot of his bunk and sat down weakly with his head in his hands. Like hurt animal, he had obeyed his instinct and had crawled home.
 His eyes went slowly around the cab in, measuring his resources and his needs and limitations. He pulled his one chair toward him-the chair which Buck Olney had occupied so unwilling ly-and placed his left knee upon it. He managed to reach the cupboard where he kept his dishes and took down a bottle of liniment and box of car | bolized vaseline which he happened to have. He was near the two big zinc water pails which he had filled that morning Just to show Buck Olney how cool he was over his capture. and he bethought him that water was going to be precious in the next few weeks.
 He lifted down one pail and swung it forward as far as he could and set it on the floor ahead of him. Then he swung the other pail beside it. Pain fully he hitched his chair alongside. lifted the pails and set them forward again. He did that twice and got them beside his bunk. He went back and in- srected the teakettle, found it half full and carried that also beside the bunk Then he rested awhile.
 Bandages Well, there was a new flour sack hanging on a nail He stood up, leaned and got it, and while he was standing he reached for the cigar box, where he kept his bachelor sewing outfit-two spools of very coarse thread some large eyed needles to carry it, an assortment of buttons and Il pair of scissors He cut the flour sack into strips and sewed the strips together; his stitches were heater than you might think.
 When the bandage was long enough he rolled it as he had seen doctors do, and fished some pins out of the cigar box and laid them where he could get his fingers on them quickly. He stood up again, reached across to d box of canned milk and pried off the lid. I'm liable to need you, too," he muttered to the rows of cans, and pulled the box close. He took Buck Olney's knife and whitfield some very creditable splints from the thin boards and rummaged in his ''warbag" under the bunk for hand kerchiefs with which to wrap the splints.
 When he had done all that he could do to prepare for the long siege of pain and helplessness ahead of him he mov- ed along the bunk until he was sitting near the head of it with his broken leg extended before him and took last look to make suSe that everything was ready. He felt his gun at his hip, re- moved belt and all and threw 1t back upon the bed. Then he turned his head and stared, drowning, at the black butt where it protruded from the holster suggestively ready to his hand He reached out and took the gun, turned it over and hesitated. No telling what in- sane impulse fever might bring upon him-and still-no telling what Buck Olney might do when he discovered that he was not in any immediate dan ger of hanging.
 Then he removed his boots by the simple method of sitting the legs with Bucks knife, barred his broken leg in the same manner, braced himself men, tally and physically, gritted his teeth and went doggedly to work.
 A man never knows just how much he can endure or what he can do until he is making his last stand in the fight for self preservation Ward had no mind to lie there and die of blood poi soning, for instance. and broken bones do not set themselves. So, sweating and swearing with the agony of it, he set his leg and bound the splints in place and thanked the Lord it was straight, clean break and that the flesh was not torn.
 Then he dropped back upon the bed and didn't care whether he lived or not
 Followed days of fever, through which