bby was going to take a
long step forward before another sun had set.

Now they were on the other side of the trenches. There was considerable
bustle. Nurses commenced to spread out over the field, on which some men
lay groaning and others very still.

The assistants with the stretchers, upon whose arms had been fastened
badges bearing the sacred red cross, began to carry off such of the
wounded as they found needed urgent attention.

"Come on, boys, let's see where we can help out!" said Rob, trying to
appear perfectly cool and collected, but at the same time knowing that
his knees were inclined to knock together, so that he could not blame
poor Tubby for feeling as he did.

They started out. At first all of them stuck together, for the sights
they soon saw filled them with a sense of horror, as well as compassion.

Never were Boy Scouts placed in a position where they had more reason to
be thankful for what little knowledge of surgery they had attained.

The American nurse may have felt considerable doubt as to whether she
had done a wise thing in affording these boys a chance to assist the Red
Cross upon the battlefield. Rob saw that she hovered near them, as
though keeping an eye on what they did.

It was a dreadful experience for those boys, to be thus brought in close
contact with the dead and the dying; they could never forget what they
saw there that day.

Even Tubby braced up when he found that he could be useful in helping
the others. He had secured a bucket of water, and when he heard some
poor fellow cry out, or saw him make frantic gestures, it was his
business to hurry over and supply his wants. No matter what uniform the
wounded man wore, it did not make a bit of difference; since the Red
Cross recognizes neither friend nor foe, but treats all alike.

It is possible to get accustomed to almost anything in this world. Not
one of those boys would have imagined a short time before this that they
could find courage and nerve enough to walk in the midst of such
carnage; and yet they were actually doing it now.

As Rob and Merritt finished binding up the leg of a poor fellow who
would soon have bled to death but for their coming, the nurse who had
meanwhile come up behind them commended their work.

"It was excellently done, I want you to know," she told them, "and I can
plainly see that I need have no further fears concerning your ability to
be of much assistance here. Do all you can, my brave boys