young scout master to accomplish things, founded on what he had already seen done.

It was quickly arranged with the old padrone, who set a number of women to work cleaning out the little schoolhouse. When this had been accomplished they could remove the most dangerously wounded to its shelter, and then even though a storm should come on they would not be exposed to the weather.

Meanwhile Dr. Richter was making preparations for removing several of the other injured strikers to the hospital at Farmingdale, where they could receive the proper treatment free of all expense.

In this labor he was ably assisted by some of the scouts, and it was settled that Nurse Arnold, as the older and more experienced of the attendants, should accompany the ambulance with its load of suffering humanity to the distant city.

“I think you put a flea in the sheriff’s ear, Doctor, when you told him these people were shot when they were running away,” Hugh remarked, as they stood and watched the ambulance move along the road, to come back again for another load later on.

“That was just what I meant to do,” replied the other, seriously. “I wanted to impress the fact on him to start with, that it was not a battle, but a massacre, for as far as we know all the injuries are on the side of the strikers. Then again, it struck me that a wealthy man like that Mr. Campertown, who is a millionaire I believe, ought to pay more attention to what is being done in his name. Why, some of these women could have torn his clothes off if the padrone had not kept them in subjection. They glared at the owner of the works like tiger-cats, and I could see their hands working as if they longed to lay hold of him.”

Hugh turned and looked at the several figures still lying under the tree, and a big sigh welled up from his very heart.

“I certainly hope,” he said, “that what Mr. Campertown has seen here to-day will open his eyes to what his duty is toward those who work for him. He has seen how horribly these people have to live even with the wages they used to get; and he must realize that it means almost starvation for them to take what has been offered lately.”

“Yes, if he knew what was best for him he would do what some other employers have done—even be satisfied to suffer a temporary loss rather than cut the wages of their faithful employees. I know several big-hearted men who have done that same thing. They say they can stand a loss for a time, but their men could not. It would hardly be safe for Mr. Campertown to wander over this way while the strikers are so furious, or to let that handsome little grandson of his get away from him.”

“Then that was his grandchild?” asked Arthur. “He seemed to be as pretty a three-year-old as I ever saw. Even the dago women were staring at him, and then looking at their own ragged and dirty children as if comparing the lot of the two classes.”

Hugh felt a thrill pass over him when he heard the surgeon say what he did. He, too, had been very much taken with the rosy-cheeked little chap who sat in the big touring car alongside the owner of the cement plant. It gave him a bad feeling to even think of harm befalling such a fine lad through the desire for revenge on the part of some of these men or women who had seen their kind shot down in cold blood by the paid deputies of this same rich man.

“I hope it will never come to that,” he remarked.

“You never can tell what some of these hot-blooded foreigners will do,” the surgeon replied. “They might think to get even with Mr. Campertown, or it is even possible they would try to make better terms with him by hiding his little grandchild, and bargaining that way. It’s a common occurrence over in their country to kidnap people, and hold them for a ransom.”

Just then Hugh happened to see Alec beckoning to him to approach, and so he wandered over to where the other was standing along with Bud Morgan, both of them having the air of fellows who had come upon a mystery.

CHAPTER III.
MASTER AND MEN.

When Hugh joined the other scouts Alec took him by the sleeve and after a cautious glance around remarked:

“We’ve been wanting to tell you something this little while back, Hugh; but you seemed to be so wrapped up with what Dr. Richter was saying and doing that we’ve just kept waiting and waiting.”

“What’s it all about, then, fellows?” asked the scout master wonderingly.

“Why, that Nurse Jones must have known Mr. Campertown before, we think, Hugh, by the strange way she acted all the time he was near by,” replied Bud, anxious to do his part of the talking.

“I didn’t happen to notice her,” Hugh told them. “I was too busy watching Mr. Campertown myself, and that sheriff who means to run things here from now on. Tell me what the nurse did?”

“Oh, just seemed to try and cower back as if she didn’t want the rich man to notice her!” Alec hastened to say. “Yes, she even fixed her eyes on him and that pretty kid as though she could eat one of them up.”

“Or else kill Mr. Campertown with a look,” added Bud. “I don’t think it was any love for him that made her stare so, and want to keep back out of sight.”

Hugh shook his head.

“It doesn’t concern us that I can see whether Nurse Jones ever knew that gentleman before or not,” he told the others.

“’Course not,” admitted Bud, with a shrug of his shoulders; “but all the same it seems queer that they should happen to meet, and here of all places. I was hoping he would see her, for I wanted to know how he’d act, but he was too much taken up looking at the field hospital we arranged here. Then again, the scowls on the faces of all these dagoes must have given him a bad feeling, I should think.”

“Well, since it’s none of our affair, let’s forget about it then,” Hugh told them. “Nurse Jones knows her business, and even her bright face is enough in itself to help cheer a suffering fellow up. Now that you’re here wait until I get the rest of the boys around, for I’ve got an idea I want to put before you all. If you think as I do we can fix things that way.”

This aroused the curiosity of the other two, just as Hugh had expected would be the case. They were compelled to wait, however, until he had beckoned to Arthur and the other two, who soon joined them.

“Hey, what’s all this deep, dark mystery mean?” demanded Billy Worth, as he joined the circle.

“Hugh’s got something to say to us, you know,” replied Alec. “Now, please hit it up, Mr. Scout Master! Are we going to hike back to our jolly camp on the raging Hurricane right away? I shall be sorry, because I’m getting head over ears interested in this Red Cross work, and hoped we might stay around a while longer so as to pick up a few more pointers on how to do things.”

Hugh smiled as he heard this.

“Then I guess I can count on your vote in favor of the proposal I meant to make you all,” he told Alec.

“As what?” asked Billy, eagerly.

“I was thinking that I’d dispatch a messenger to the camp, and tell the rest of the fellows what we’ve struck over here. They might break camp and head this way, to put up the tents somewhere close by. Then all of us could hang around and learn considerable in the way of taking charge of wounded persons.”

“A good idea, Hugh!” cried Billy enthusiastically.

“Dr. Richter and Nurse Jones are mighty kind about explaining just how things are done, and why a certain way is best,” declared