kindred tie
between himself and the young Indian, not to mention the debt of
gratitude each owed the other, the Fighting Nigger felt that for once in
his life he might, without soiling the skirts of his honor, or lowering
the plumes of his dignity, play the familiar and brotherly with the red
varmint. So, going up to the young brave, who the while had stood with
his bright eyes fixed on some invisible quarter of the morning, our
colored hero, with a bland condescension of manner that would have done
a white man infinite good to see, shook his captive heartily by the
hand. Then, with awkward carefulness, he took the wounded arm of the
Indian between his fingers, to ascertain the extent of the injury done
by his bullet. No bones were broken, but the flesh-wound inflicted by
the ball--flattened and jagged as it was by its passage through the grim
savage--was found to be ugly and painful enough. "Betsy Grumbo bites
pow'ful hard when she gits a chance," remarked Burl, after inspecting
the wound with critical narrowness for a few moments. "Well, jes' wait a
bit, an' I'll see what I kin do for you." So saying, he went and
divested the dead savage of his ruffled shirt, which he tore up into
narrow strips, wherewith to bandage the crippled arm. For Burlman
Rennuls, you must know, was quite a dab at surgery; his skill in that
line having been called into frequent requisition by the mishaps of old
Cornwallis, who seldom got through the unlucky quarters of the moon
without snagging his legs; and also by the wounds which the heroic
Grumbo had received in hunting and in war.

While thus humanely engaged, his fluent tongue went on, and on, and on.
Sometimes he would address his remarks to Burlman Rennuls, enlarging
upon the valorous deeds and distinguished abilities of the Fighting
Nigger--such signal proofs whereof he, Burlman Rennuls, had that day
enjoyed the rare pleasure of witnessing. Then he would throw out some
side hints, meant only for the private ear of the dead savage, relative
to the incompatibleness of blue coats and ruffled shirts with the pure
Indian costume--that unlucky individual being admonished that
thereafter, if he did not wish to be thought a dirty, sneaking,
low-lived thief, he would do well "to stick to his raggedy rawhide tags
and feathers." Oftener, though, the black surgeon would be making some
comment touching the matter more immediately in hand--seeming to take
more interest therein than the patient himse