Gesturing to Ben that they should follow him, she walked quickly after Max and then heard barking.
Ben turned to her as they walked. 'He's found them?' he asked in amazement.
Ellie shook her head. 'That's not Max. A search dog never barks at the body. Only at the handler. The walkers must h
ave a dog with them.'
'Or maybe it isn't them.'
But Max reappeared out of the mist and threw himself at Ellie, barking and jumping up until she was covered in wet mud.
'Good boy.' She laughed, pushing him away as he threatened to knock her right over. 'Clever dog.'
They walked a few more strides and saw the walkers, huddled together by a rock, looking mightily relieved to see them.
Ellie made a fuss of Max and turned to look at Ben. 'He's found them.' Brisk and professional, she picked up her radio. 'I'll give Jack our position while you give them the once-over.'
Ben was looking at her with a strange look in his eyes. 'You're a different person up here. I'm impressed.'
Suddenly he smiled and because it was so unusual to see him smile she was utterly captivated for a moment. The harshness of his features softened and he looked a hundred times more approachable. Then the smile was gone and he was shrugging the pack off his back and focusing on the task in hand—assessing the injuries and deciding on the best course of action.
Dragging her gaze away from his broad shoulders, Ellie called Jack and then sent up a flare to indicate their position before returning to help Ben with the climbers. He was on his knees, running a hand over the man's injured leg, questioning him about exactly what had happened.
'We lost the path in the mist and when we crossed the waterfall I slipped. Completely stupid of me, I know.' He pulled a face and looked thoroughly embarrassed. 'To be honest, if there'd been any way of getting myself off the mountain without calling you guys out then I would have done it, but my leg's a mess. Once we saw how bad it was, we called you. Then the battery in the mobile died. We were beginning to think we were going to have to spend the night here, so we were mighty relieved to see your dog.'
Ellie dropped to her knees beside him and looked at Ben. 'What's the damage?'
'Compound fracture of his tib and fib,' Ben said immediately. 'Is Jack carrying a vacuum splint?'
Ellie nodded. 'Yes. Sean sent one over when they called in and described their injuries. He had a feeling it might be needed.'
'The man's clairvoyant.' Ben delved into his rucksack and pulled out a venflon and a giving set. 'I'm going to get a line in. Ellie, lay your hands on some sterile dressings so that we can cover this wound. And tell Jack to get some Entonox up here quickly. I need to give some pain relief while I fix this leg.'
Ellie glimpsed white bone poking out through the torn flesh and she knew that it needed to be covered to try and minimise the risk of infection.
Ben was explaining what he was doing to the injured walker. 'You've fractured a bone in your lower leg. I'm going to bring it back into alignment in a minute and then we'll put it in a splint and get you down the mountain to hospital.'
At that moment Jack and the rest of the team arrived and there was a flurry of activity while the necessary equipment was identified.
'OK, I've got a line in.' Ben taped the cannula to the man's hand and glanced expectantly at Ellie who immediately handed him the giving set attached to a bag of fluid, stunned by how quickly he worked. No wonder Jack had asked him to join them. He wasn't just good, he was awesome.
'Analgesia next and then I'll reduce that fracture.'
Ten minutes later the man's leg was safely protected by a sterile dressing and a splint and he was being lifted onto a stretcher.
Jack blinked. 'You certainly don't waste time, Ben, I'll give you that. Good job, guys.'
'Thank you.' Ellie's tone was sarcastic and Jack gave her a wink.
'You're one of the guys, Ellie, you know that.'
'You have a strange idea of what makes a compliment,' Ellie grumbled as she checked the pulses in the injured man's foot and gave Ben a nod to indicate that everything was fine. She knew how important it was to check the circulation, but she also knew that their next priority was to get the man safely off the mountain as quickly as possible.
The man was in pain but still distinctly embarrassed. 'I never thought this would happen to me. Having to call out the rescue team...'
'Don't worry about it,' Jack said cheerfully. 'We all needed the exercise. You can buy me a pint when you're out of hospital.'
'How on earth are you going to carry me down the mountain?'