The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle — Part 107

"How did I get here?" he asked in wonder. "The last I remember was the machine being in flames."

"You keeled over in a faint," Walter replied cheerfully. "Loss of blood, I guess."

"Was there any one killed?" Charley demanded anxiously.

"We thought Bratton was for a while, but the bullet hit a rib and glanced out again, making only a flesh wound. He'll be all right again in a week. The three Spaniards on the machine got pretty badly burned, but not dangerously so. Luckily for them, the ditch was there. They jumped right off the machine into it. The engineer by some miracle escaped without a burn. Sicavia, the Spaniard that was wounded in the leg, will be around again in a few days. He has only got a flesh wound. I guess that's all, except we buried that dead gunman this morning."

"The machine, is it running?" Charley questioned eagerly.

"Yes, I got them to start her up again this morning. But we can't run her nights for we have neither lights nor a night crew."

"Go on," said Charley gravely. "I see that there's worse to follow."

"Well, if you will have it, I suppose you might as well learn it now as a little later," Walter said. "The fact is the whole gang of Spaniards are going to quit. I had hard work to get any of them to remain over to-day."

"I suppose this is the end," said Charley, with a wry smile. "Well, we have fought a good fight, and I, for one, am not going to give up yet."

"There is such a thing as knowing when one is licked," his chum said sadly, "and I think about every one on the job has reached that point. I do not see how we can do anything more."

Charley lay quiet for a minute thinking, then he said quietly: "Will you get me about a pint of hot, strong coffee, Walt?"

"Sure," answered his chum quickly, glad to see Charley taking the ill news so quietly.

When he returned it was to find his chum sitting on the edge of his cot trying to dress, but making an awkward job of it with only one hand.

"You must not get up," he protested, but Charley only smiled and said lightly: "Nonsense, a broken arm is no excuse for lying in bed. Why, it don't even pain me much. The pain will come later when the bone begins to knit. Will you please get all the men together? I want to talk with them a bit."