boys agreed. CHAPTER VIII. When the Butterflies Die When the Butterflies Die After a good warm bath and a shower which helped the Buddies no end, they donned robes and admitted “Sawbones,” a kindly old soldier whose real name was Manwell. He lost no time in preliminaries but in one swift, all-including glance, noted the ridges and welts left by the ropes that had bound the upper part of the strong young bodies for hours, the feet swollen from the long tramp, and the unmistakable dark rings under their eyes which evidenced lack of sleep. “For a pair who are reported ‘all right’ you look a bit the worse for wear,” he remarked gravely. “Stretch out on this cot and rest while I take your brother,” he added to Jim. “All right,” Austin answered. “We’re not really brothers,” Bob added. “Each of us started out with a whole pair of parents, but after Jim lost his mother and my father passed on, we looked each other over, decided that in union there is strength, so we got the two grown-ups married. Jim was his father’s best man and I gave my mother away; that is I agreed to the arrangement as long as Jim’s dad treated Mom all right, but it’s understood I fill him full of lead if he falls down on the job.” The doctor laughed heartily at this bit of family history. “From all I have been able to gather Mr. Austin is still going around without any punctures,” he chuckled. “Yep, haven’t even taken down a shot gun,” answered Bob. “Then you feel that you made no mistake,” the doctor remarked. “Sure,” Jim put in. “I’d known Dad all my life; Bob knew his mother all his life, so we sort of guaranteed them to each other. Sometimes it doesn’t work so good because my Dad’s got the habit of acting perky because he’s got two sons—” “And Mom saves the gizzards for Jim and when there is only one piece of chocolate cake left, she cuts it three ways; I used to get it all.” Bob scowled darkly. “Looks as if trouble might be brewing,” said Manwell. “You still get the livers,” Jim reminded his buddy. “I like ’em better than the gizzards,” said Bob calmly. He set his lips in a tight line when the doctor’s fingers explored sore spots on his body, but although
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