"The young man is all right." This from the surgeon who had just
finished his examination. "He will pull through with good nursing.
It's a bullet wound between the ribs and I f ear, although I'm not
certain yet, that in passing it pierced the lungs. It has gone out at
his back, near the shoulder, and that's a good thing. Leaves a clean
Wound."
By degrees Buck was brought to, revived by a tonic, braced up by a
subtle injection of some kind, after which his wound was carefully,
thoroughly, and scientifically dressed.
Laying back after this, the first person on whom his sleepy eyes opened
was Stanley, now raised on one elbow, so strong had he already grown,
regarding Bangs much as one might look at some one supposed to be dead,
but returned to life.
"Hello, Buck!" Stanley actually tried to sit up in bed. "When we saw
you put out up in them clouds, I sure thought you were a goner!"
Buck weakly shook his bead, but was restrained by the nurse from trying
to talk. "No use!" he whispered wearily. Then his eyes sought that
sweet girl again . She was still looking at him. He gave a sigh of
satisfaction and almost immediately fell asleep.
All at once Stanley seemed to remember what he had come through a
flying death for. He cursed his forgetfulness, then said aloud:
"I want to see Captain Byers. It -- it's important. Please send for
him."
But Byers, already alert, was stepping close and; saying:
"If it is important, go ahead. But if it can wait --"
"But -- it can't wait, Captain," pleaded Stanley. "They sent me 'cause
they couldn't come. All our planes were bombed from overhead. Had to
use Fritzy's little old Fokker after we got him and his machine.
Believe me, they're a tight place, and there's two women with 'em, one
of them an American girl from Chicago; t'other a good old Belgian."
"Go ahead, my man," urged Byers.
Thereupon Stanley, refreshed by a mug of real Red Cross French wine,
proceeded to relate a succinctly as he could all that the reader now
knows Irwin, and Bangs, so far as Stanley had known. Also their varied
adventures after following the defeated Hun down amid the ruins of the
old baronial chateau.
"Believe me, sir, they are in bad shape," continued Stanley earnestly.
"Both them chaps are clean knocked out for the time being, though I
know they will be able to travel by the time we get back there."
"You say there are women there, too?"
"Yes, sir; two of 'em. One is sister to the wife of the Belgian baron
who owns the whole chateau and estate. They got a permit somehow and
came through the lines; but in view of recent troubles around there
they don't know how to get back. "I'm sure sorry for them."
"What did they go there for, knowing the Germans controlled all that
territory? Had they no better sense?"
"So far as I could understand, they went in the first place for some
important papers hid away there, and which the Boches don't know of."
"Private papers or papers pertaining to the, war?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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