The Adventures of Dick Maitland: A Tale of Unknown AfricaCollingwood, Harry
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The Adventures of Dick Maitland: A Tale of Unknown Africa
Collingwood, Harry
Adventure stories; Africa -- Juvenile fiction
"I'll relieve you of this," he said, laying his hand upon the revolver,
the barrel of which Phil had twisted in the handkerchief and had been
holding in place all this while, "and you can start striking matches, so
that I may see what I am doing." Then, giving the revolver an extra
twist or two, he pulled out his own handkerchief and deftly secured the
weapon in place, after which he proceeded, by the light of the matches
which Grosvenor struck, one after the other, carefully and thoroughly to
cauterize the wounds.
"There," he remarked cheerfully, with a sigh of relief as he finished
his task, "that is as much as we can do here. The next thing is to get
you back to the camp as soon as possible."
"All right," assented Grosvenor. "But," he added, as he attempted to
rise, "I'm afraid I shall have to get you to help me, old chap; I
couldn't possibly--"
"Of course you couldn't," responded Dick, "and I don't mean that you
shall try. Just sit where you are for a little while longer, and leave
me to arrange things." Therewith he drew a whistle from the pocket of
his hunting shirt, and upon it blew three piercing blasts in quick
succession that, in the breathless stillness of the night, might have
been heard at least a mile away. He repeated the signal at brief
intervals for about ten minutes, when answering shouts were heard,
whereupon he drew three or four matches from the box, bunched them
together, ignited them, and held the tiny torch aloft to guide Mafuta
and Jantje, whose voices he recognised. A minute later they both
arrived upon the scene, anxious to know what was amiss, and received
Dick's hurried explanation with many _Au's_! of surprise and
apprehension. Then, in obedience to his brief but concise instruction,
they hurried away again at a run, to return with very commendable
celerity, bearing Grosvenor's hammock and a long pole, hacked from the
nearest tree they could find. The hammock having been spread upon the
ground, the patient was, under Dick's anxious supervision, laid very
carefully upon it, so that there might be as little movement of his body
as possible; and finally, the hammock having been securely lashed to the
pole, the whole was raised upon the shoulders of the two blacks and by
them borne to the camp. Arrived there, the hammock was, still with the
utmost gentleness and care, slung inside the tent, the lamp was lighted,
and Dick proceeded to examine his patient afresh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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