gets a place
to bide and a fine warm fire to heat un."

With the first moments of relaxation, Jamie became aware that his
wrists were exceedingly painful, and upon examination he discovered
that they had been burned much worse than he had realized in his
attempts to sever the string that bound them. Large blisters had been
raised, and one of the blisters had been broken, doubtless while he
was engaged in building his lean-to shelter. The loose skin had been
rubbed off, and the angry red wound left unprotected.

"I'll have to fix un," he declared. "The sore places'll be gettin'
rubbed against things, and be a wonderful lot worse and I leaves un
bide as they is."

In the course of the first aid instruction, Doctor Joe had taught
Jamie, as well as David and Andy, the art of applying bandages, but
now Jamie had no bandages to apply. For a little while he helplessly
contemplated his wrists. But for the fact that they were becoming
exceedingly painful he would have decided to ignore them, for in his
wearied condition it was an effort to do anything.

"I knows how I'll fix un," he said at length. "I'll cut pieces from
the bottom o' my shirt to bind un up with. They'll keep un from
gettin' rubbed whatever, and when I gets back to camp Doctor Joe'll
fix un up right."

This he proceeded to do at once with the aid of his jack-knife, and
presently had two serviceable bandages ready to apply.

"Doctor Joe were sayin' how to keep the air away from burns by usin'
oil or molasses or flour or somethin'," he hesitated. "And he were
sayin' to keep sores from gettin' dirt into un whatever. He says the
sores'll be gettin' inflicted or infested or somethin'--I'm not
rememberin' just what 'twere, but somethin' bad whatever--if they gets
dirt into un. I've been wearin' the shirt three days, and I'm thinkin'
'tis not as clean as Doctor Joe wants the bindin' for sores to be, and
I'll cover the sore place where the blisters were rubbin' off with
fir sap. That'll keep un clean. Pop says 'tis fine for sores."

Crawling out of his nest Jamie found a young balsam fir tree, and with
his sharp jack-knife cut from the bark several of the little sacs in
which sap is secreted. He had often seen Thomas cut them and daub the
contents upon cuts and bruises, and sometimes even have him and the
other boys take the sap as medicine. Returning to the lean-to he
pierced the ends of the sacs with the point of his knife, and
carefully smeared the contents