"
Alas! there he lay on the ground, his head sometimes raised,
sometimes stretched out flat, while the huge creature uttered
short moans at times.
Only four years before, Rolf had seen that same thing at Redding.
The rolling eye, the working of the belly muscles, the straining
and moaning. "It's colic; have you any ginger?"
"No, I hat only dot soft soap."
What soft soap had to do with ginger was not clear, and Rolf
wondered if it had some rare occult medical power that had
escaped his mother.
"Do you know where there's any slippery elm?"
"Yah."
"Then bring a big boiling of the bark, while I get some
peppermint."
The elm bark was boiled till it made a kettleful of brown slime.
The peppermint was dried above the stove till it could be
powdered, and mixed with the slippery slush. Some sulphur and
some soda were discovered and stirred in, on general principles,
and they hastened to the huge, helpless creature in the field.
Poor Buck seemed worse than ever. He was flat on his side, with
his spine humped up, moaning and straining at intervals. But now
relief was in sight -- so thought the men.
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