"He's trying to kill that Shanghai, Wash," said Jack, wickedly. "That's what he's trying to do."
"Dat settles it!" ejaculated the colored man, mighty wroth at this thought. "I ain't goin' ter stan' no sech doin's. Tryin' ter shoot Buttsy; is he? I'll show him in jest erbout a minute dat nobody kin shoot at ma Shanghai wid imputation an' git erway wid it—no sah!"
The boys had no idea that he would do so reckless a thing. Wash was not ordinarily a courageous person. But he was "riled all up" now, and he feared for the Shanghai's safety.
Up he jumped, threw down his rifle, and agilely leaped the fortification in the direction of the short Indian who had attracted his anger. He streaked it across the intervening space so quickly that the startled enemy did not even fire at him.
But Andy Sudds began firing his magazine rifle as fast as he could sight her and pull the trigger, and Roebach followed his example. This volley drove all the Indians to cover and doubtless saved the strangely reckless negro's life.
Wash reached the cover of the Aleut accused by him of aiming directly to finish the Shanghai rooster, and before that startled aborigine could escape, he was disarmed by the black man and dragged across the intervening space to the fort.
Wash was powerful and could easily do this, for the Indian was not a heavy fellow. But on the way one Indian had fired at the darkey and wounded the Aleut in the leg.
"Lemme tell yo'," roared Wash, "I ain't gwine to hab no off-color critter like disher try ter combobberate ma Shanghai. Dat is ma final ratification ob de pre-eminent fac's. Does you understand me?"
"We most certainly do, Wash!" declared Jack, when he could speak for laughing. "And we'll never call you a coward again."
"You have given us a hostage," said the professor. "You have done well."