Private Brave's Adventures

       Three weeks later, a soldier with one arm and his very attentive sister were looked upon with much interest by the other passengers on a steamer going to New York. Ima stood the journey well, but when they arrived at the station, Shesa decided to take him direct to the Dolls' Hospital to rest instead of home, where he would be under a good deal of excitement.

       So it was in the Dolls' Hospital that the Brave family came together again, rejoicing in the escape of their soldier. Even Mike, the dog, was allowed to come, and no one greeted him with more joy than did their family pet.

       Private Brave didn't mend as well as the doctors and nurses had hoped. Within a week after his arrival at the hospital, an abscess developed on his left forearm, which caused everyone to worry, and another operation was all that saved poor Private Brave from losing his only remaining arm.

       The assistant nurse dressed and bandaged this abscess with roller bandages.

ROLLER BANDAGES
(See Reference List)

       Roller bandages are usually made of long straight pieces of gauze. This material "gives" to the form of the arm much better than muslin. Never put a bandage on wet, for it shrinks and is too tight when dry.

       You will be interested in seeing a picture on page 99 of how a roller bandage is applied to an arm or leg.

       This picture shows one of Mary Frances' big dolls bandaged in roller bandages.

       The two-and-a-half-inch wide roller bandage four or six yards long is the size most used for grown-up people, although narrower ones are needed for fingers.

       On the doll's body inch-wide bandages were used, and the ends were sewed in place. To prevent slipping, strips of adhesive plaster were placed over the folds of the edges.

Roller Bandages on a doll.

        Under the assistant nurse's kind care, Private Brave soon grew better and was able to take an interest in the other patients.

       He begged to be allowed to visit the boys' ward, where he wouldn't be so lonely.

       There was great excitement among the boys in the ward, none of whom were very ill, when a

real soldier came to visit them.

       They coaxed him to tell them about his adventures.

       They liked best the story about how he lost his arm, and this one about the stolen baby:

THE WAY PRIVATE BRAVE SAVED A BABY'S LIFE

"We put the baby into her arms."

       "We were riding along one day, when I thought I heard a baby's cry. None of the other boys seemed to hear it, and as we were not riding in order, I headed my horse toward the sound. I had about concluded that I was mistaken, when the horse stopped short. The crying had ceased by this

time.

       "I looked down, and there among the sage-brush, at the horse's feet, was a little baby about a year old. How it came in such a place, I have no idea. There was no house within forty miles, and we hadn't met a soul.

       "I got off my horse and picked the little thing up and rode with it, to our captain. It appeared to be half starved and surely could not have survived much longer.

       "We carried it with us into camp, fed it and took care of it as best we could.

       "On making inquiries, we found the baby had been stolen from some poor white settlers. Who did it or why, no one ever found out.

       "When the poor mother came into camp and we put the baby into her arms she was the happiest woman I ever saw"

       "Wasn't that grand!" cried Bobby to Sammy, the little lame boy in the next bed. Sammy was the plaster-of- Paris doll Mary Frances had bought for a nickel at the children's fair.

       All the patients were sorry and the doctors and nurses, too when the time came for Private Brave to leave the hospital.

       He had been so bright and cheerful that they would miss him greatly.

       He felt sorry, too, in a way, for so many interesting things had happened; for instance but perhaps you would rather hear the story of the mad dog as Private Brave told it to his family.

Introduction: Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, Private Brave's Adventures,  17, 18, 19