The Mystery on Cobbett's Island

now.” He winced with pain, and Brian noticed that his face was unnaturally pale.
    “Don’t you worry, El,” said Trixie warmly. “We’ll see that everything is taken care of as long as we’re here. We’re staying at The Moorings for a while with Honey Wheeler.”
    “That’s real good of you. I appreciate it,” El said, trying to raise himself on his elbows.
    “Now, you just lie back, El, and we’ll have you fixed up in no time,” said Jim.
    Di was already in the house before Brian had had a chance to tell her to get a doctor, so he asked Mart to go and telephone for one. “There is a doctor on the island, isn’t there?” he asked El.
    “There sure is, and a good one, too,” El answered. “Dr. Holmes has been here for years, but it won’t do any good to call. The phone’s been out of order since noontime. I tried calling my wife to tell her I wasn’t coming home until I got everything secured around here, but the line was dead.”
    “Gosh,” said Trixie, “in that case, we’d better send Tom for Dr. Holmes. Mart, you go tell him, and ask Celia to have the cook make some good strong coffee.”
    Turning her attention to El again, she heard Brian say, “Now, the first thing to do is to get you into the house and out of this awful weather, but we’ll have to be careful of how we move that leg so there won’t be any more damage.”
    Di came running back with the blankets. She also brought a big umbrella, which she held over El’s head and shoulders while Trixie and Honey carefully covered him. While the girls were doing this, Brian asked Jim to see if something could be found to use as a stretcher. After he had gone, Brian very gently examined El’s leg to see if he could locate the break. Just below the knee he felt a place where the shin bone was bent in an unnatural way, and El gave a cry of pain.
    “It’s not a compound fracture, thank goodness,” said Brian, wiping the rain from his face.
    “What’s a Compound fracture?” asked Diana, her eyes wide with interest.
    “It’s when the end of the broken bone gets pushed through the skin,” explained Brian. “Then you run the risk of infection setting in.”
    “How come you know so much, young fella?” asked El weakly.
    “Oh, he’s going to be a doctor”—Honey broke in before Brian had a chance to answer—“and he knows all about first aid and everything about medicine.”
    “Well, not everything, I’m afraid.” Brian laughed, obviously pleased by Honey’s praise. “But I do read a lot, and last winter I got hold of a book about fractures and how to treat them,” he added.
    Just then, Jim and Mart came back with an old door. “We found it in the barn,” Jim explained. “Lucky for us!”
    “That’s just the thing, but before we move him, we’ve got to put on a temporary splint so the broken bone can’t wiggle around,” Brian said soberly. “Honey, see if you can find a couple of pieces of wood to use as splints and some old cloths to tie them in place.”
    “Look in the barn,” suggested El. “There should be some pieces of kindling in there and some clean rags I keep for painting.”
    Honey was off like a flash, proud to be able to help out in an emergency. There was a time when she might have fainted dead away when faced with an accident, but she had learned many things, including fortitude, from Trixie and the other Bob-Whites. She was soon back with two pieces of pine board and a handful of cloths. Trixie tore some strips and helped her brother put padding around El’s leg. Then they put on the splints, one at each side, and carefully tied them in place.
    “Now, all of you put your hands under El’s left side and roll him over onto his other side so we can put the door halfway under him. Then we’ll ease him all the way onto it,” said Brian.
    “No sooner said than done, Dr. Belden.” Jim smiled. “Are you all right, El?”
    “It feels some better with the splint on, but the pain’s still there, for sure,” the caretaker replied. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t heard me call.”
    They lifted the door very carefully and, keeping near the side of the house, where there was a little more protection, got El onto the porch and then into the house.
    Celia met them at the door and suggested that they take the injured man into the library until the doctor arrived. She had built a cheery fire in the big stone fireplace, and, although it was June, the warmth was very welcome