But Dave had seized the yellow man and had flung him aside.

The reader already knows what they discovered, and how it affected these young men.

“Bring that copper-colored chink in here, if you’ll be so good,” directed Dave.

Dan and Hallam departed on the quest.

“You’re wanted in there,” proclaimed Dalzell, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

“Me no sabby,” replied Chow Hop, looking up briefly from his ironing board.

“Get in there—­do you hear?” commanded Hallam, gripping the other’s arm with all his force.

“You lemme go chop-chop (quickly), or you get alle samee hurt—­you sabby?” scowled Chow Hop, using his free hand to raise a heavy flat-iron menacingly.

But Dan Dalzell jumped in, giving the Chinaman’s wrist a wrench that caused him to drop the iron.

Then, without a bit of ceremony, Dan grasped the Oriental by the shoulders, wheeled him about, while he protested in guttural tones, and bluntly kicked the yellow-faced one through the door into the inner room.

At this summary proceeding both the Chinese helpers gripped their flat-irons firmly; and leaped forward to fight.

In an ugly temper the Chinaman is a bad man to oppose.  But now this pair were faced by a pair of quietly smiling midshipmen who were also dangerous when angry.

“You two, get back,” ordered Dalzell, advancing fearlessly upon the pair.  “If you don’t, we’ll drag you out into the street and turn you over to the policemen.  You ‘sabby’ that?  You heathen are pretty likely to get into prison for this day’s work!”

Scowling for a moment, then muttering savagely, the two helpers slunk back to their ironing boards.

Yet, while Dan turned to go into the rear room, Hallam stood just where he was, to keep an eye on two possible sources of swift trouble.

“Chow Hop,” began Dave Damn sternly, as the proprietor made his flying appearance, “You’ve done a pretty mean piece of work here”—­pointing to the unconscious midshipman in the berth.  “Do you understand that you’re pretty likely to go to prison for this?”

“Oh, that no maller,” replied Chow, with a sullen grin.  “Him plenty ’shipmen come here and smoke.”

“You lie!” hissed Dave, grasping the heathen by the collar and shaking him until the latter’s teeth rattled.

Then Dave gave him a brief rest, though he still retained his hold on the Chinaman’s collar.  But the yellow man began struggling again, and Dave repeated the shaking.

Chow Hop had kept his hands up inside his wide sleeves.  Now Farley leaped forward as he shouted: 

“Look out, Darry!  He has a knife!”

Farley attempted to seize the Chinaman’s wrist, for the purpose of disarming the yellow man, but Dave swiftly threw the Chinaman around out of Farley’s reach.  Then, with a lightning-like move, Dave knocked the knife from Chow Hop’s hand.