thought about the axe; you're a--"

Just then I heard somebody yell, "Look out, Westy, the boards are gone!
You'll have to climb!"

After that, everything seemed to be all jumbled up. I saw Skinny standing
near his sapling just staring at me and he looked as if I had just hit
him and he didn't understand at all. He didn't even notice all the other
fellows who were running. Then I looked and I didn't see Westy, but all
the fellows were heading for the ditch and I knew right away what had
happened. Somebody hollered, "Get your kit, Doc, and hurry up."

There was a ditch near where the saplings grew and usually there were a
couple of boards across it. But they weren't there when all of us fellows
went across and we had to go down into the ditch and climb up the other
side. I guess the woodsmen had taken them, maybe.

Anyway, when Westy came along the path he was running so hard he didn't
notice in time that the boards weren't there, and he went head over
heels into the ditch. I guess I was the last one to get there, and all
the fellows were standing around and Doc was kneeling over Westy, and
feeling his pulse. Westy's face was all white and there was blood
coming down from his eye and he looked straight up and didn't notice
anybody. All the fellows were quiet and scared, kind of, and waiting
for Doc to speak. But he wasn't excited, only he said we'd better get a
doctor. "It isn't a fracture," he said; "it's only a cut, but anyway,
we'd better get the doctor."

Then I saw some blood on the front of Westy's khaki shirt. But Doc saw it
first and he said, "Open his shirt, maybe he has something hanging from
his neck that cut him. Feel and see if he has a knife in his breast
pocket. Open his shirt first. Give me the iodine and some bandage, one of
you fellows."

I thought I ought to be the one to open his shirt, because he was in my
patrol and besides we were special friends, as you might say. So I
pushed through past the others and just as I was kneeling down I saw
Skinny standing up on the edge of the ditch and his eyes looked big and
he was all trembling and excited. There were big red spots on his cheeks
and I knew that was the consumption that showed whenever he got excited.
He was all by himself up there and he looked kind of wild--I can't
exactly tell you..

Then I opened Westy's shirt and I saw he had a ring with two keys hanging
there and they must have pressed into his chest and cut him. It kind of
scared me