Last summer I worked as an instructor in general physical training at a sports camp belonging to the local Institute of Physical Education. My duties included conducting workouts and morning exercises. After the obligatory jogging on the territory, the students had to devote some time to classes on the crossbar, parallel bars or exercise equipment in the fresh air.

That morning, the guys surrounded the horizontal bar and found out for an argument who could catch up more. The girls twisted hoops, walked around a log and did exercises from the complex I taught them before. My participation here was not required, so I, sitting on a bench under a tree, slowly filled the workout log.

Suddenly a quiet idyll violated restless chirping girls. Looking up, I saw that they were all crowded around a gymnastic log. Throwing the magazine on the bench, I instantly exploded and ran to see what had happened.

It turned out that one of the girls stumbled and crashed down from a not very tall sports projectile. She sat on the grass, frowning and rubbing her ankle with her hand.

- Lick, rubbing is useless, the cold must be applied! - advised someone from others.

- Ta-ha! ... fell? - I clarified.

- Yeah, - nodded the girl.

- Does it hurt? Can you get up?

She tried to get up, but then collapsed again on the grass. Then, without delay, I picked her up and dragged her into the medical building. Several of her friends and one of the guys got along with us. I haven’t been able to wear young girls in my arms for a long time, and for some reason, Lika now seemed light as a feather. She held one hand to my neck, the other tried to reach her injured leg.

Body - it says loudly! In fact, it was only a small house with two rooms, one of which was allocated for an insulator. The second was something of a lookout. I carefully laid the victim on the couch. The paramedic examined the ankle and shook his head.

“Look, just a few minutes have passed, and the swelling has begun.” As if there was no fracture, you need to get to the emergency room!

- No, thanks! I had it a hundred times! Turn the leg, it swells - like an elephant becomes - and then everything just as quickly passes.

- I would call an ambulance. Why do we need such trouble? - The doctor has addressed to me.

- Do not need an ambulance! I just lie back today for a day, and by the evening I will be running! You will see!

But I did not heed her objection and nodded to the paramedic. He immediately went to call. The ambulance arrived, as expected, an hour and a half later. The doctors said that at the local emergency room the X-ray machine had long been broken, and I would have to go to the hospital, to the regional center.

A white gazelle with two red stripes was removed along a primer from the camp gate. At the urgent request of Lika, we did not inform her relatives about the incident. She was eighteen years old, and she was free to make such decisions herself.

Towards evening, the camp director and I called the hospital to inquire about the patient's condition. The head of the department of traumatology himself took the tube and explained that there was no fracture, and the patient's condition was more than satisfactory. He also said that the hospital was overcrowded and asked, if possible, to pick up the girl today before the end of the day.

- Understand correctly: I do not have a single free bed! - He shouted into the phone again after we had said goodbye.

- What shall we do? - asked me the head of the camp.

- You should go after her! He himself will not get here, but a hundred and forty kilometers to the city!

- Go ... What to go? We don’t have a car, and a taxi will not come here, according to our bumps ...

- How far? - For some reason I asked.

- Twelve - there, twelve - back ...

We both thought hard and stood silently for a while. And suddenly it hit me:

- And what is this unit there, at the gate for three days already worth it?

- And, Uazik? ... So this is the chairman of the state farm came to visit me. He started to leave, but she didn’t start up - the battery was dead. I called someone, came for him. And this is a miracle, he said, then he will take it.

- And if I charge and start? ... Will he allow Lika to roll on him? - With hope in my voice, I asked.

“Hm! ... And let's ask him ... The keys are mine, he forgot them in the car ...”

In order not to lose time, I went to take off the battery, and the boss began to receive permission from his friend to use the machine. These devices were familiar to me. In the last year of the army service, I drove to such middle officer ranks, so the materiel knew like the back of his hand. Within ten minutes, I connected the wires to the terminals of a portable gasoline generator, which was available in the camp in case of a power failure.

Of course, the chairman did not regret his car for the sake of such a good cause, how to bring a girl from the hospital. The sun was already leaning towards the horizon, and did not want to waste time. Having fed the battery with the maximum permissible current for only an hour and a half, I returned it under the hood and drove to the district center.

* * *

Lika with an elastic bandage on her leg was sitting to my right. According to her, the leg almost did not hurt already. The girl first complained about our man’s stubbornness with our camp leader, who did not allow us to believe her words about the failure of the injury. I excused myself as best I could. Then we shook on a winding primer, naturally talking about that, about this ...

While driving away from the camp, I saw that a red light was on the dashboard, indicating that the battery was not charging. This meant that the generator was faulty, and that the entire on-board electrical power supply comes from the battery. A fully charged battery would be enough for a hundred kilometers, but this was definitely not my case.

When it was almost half way back, it became completely dark. And then I made a fatal mistake - fearing to fly into some hole, I turned on the headlights, although I understood that the battery was at the limit. Literally in a couple of minutes the voltmeter needle threatened to crawl to a critical point of eight volts. With such a voltage, the ignition system gave a very weak spark, the engine began mercilessly troit and already barely pulled even in second gear.

In spite of the fact that I extinguished the passing light a long time ago, we failed to overcome another small lift. Several times offendedly coughing through the muffler with the pops of unburned fuel mixture, the engine stopped. All that I managed to do was to roll over to the side of the road, so as not to leave a car not indicated by light in the night on the road. Attempts to start the engine again did not lead to anything — there was no force left in the battery even to crank the crankshaft with the starter.

- broke? - Asked Lika, looking into my eyes.

- I'm afraid so ...

- And we still far away?

- Yes, five or six kilometers, no less!

“Or maybe we will push? ...” A girl asked hopefully in her voice.

“It’s more than a ton and a half, I’m not able to do it alone.” And from you, and even with a sore leg, “Pull-push” that one more!

- And if from a hill backing? Suddenly start? ... - Lika did not give up.

- It's dark, you can fly into a ditch. But even if it is possible to miraculously start, we will still not pass a mile. Believe me, I know these "primus" well.

- Then walk?

- We'll have to ... Stop! So your leg hurts! ..

- Nothing, we stay sometime ...

I took Lika's arm, and we walked along the dark road towards our camp. She swaggled, but I saw that she was visibly limping. Each step was made more difficult for her. We have not passed five hundred meters, as she asked for a break.

- Listen, maybe I'll carry you in my arms? - I suggested.

- No, no ... You shouldn't ... I'll get there! Now take a break a little bit only.

We stood, I peered into the darkness, it is not clear that looking out. The sky was clear, but the moon was somewhere ...