act that they were white men, than with any threats of
immediate war. So when he saluted Gordon haughtily, that young man gave
him a haughty nod in return, and bade Stedman tell the King that he
would permit him to sit down. The King did not quite appear to like
this, but he sat down, nevertheless, and nodded his head gravely.

"Now tell him," said Gordon, "that I come from the ruler of the greatest
nation on earth, and that I recognize Ollypybus as the only King of this
island, and that I come to this little three-penny King with either
peace and presents, or bullets and war."

"Have I got to tell him he's a little three-penny King?" said Stedman,
plaintively.

"No; you needn't give a literal translation; it can be as free as you
please."

"Thanks," said the secretary, humbly.

"And tell him," continued Gordon, "that we will give presents to him and
his warriors if he keeps away from Ollypybus, and agrees to keep away
always. If he won't do that, try to get him to agree to stay away for
three months at least, and by that time we can get word to San
Francisco, and have a dozen muskets over here in two months; and when
our time of probation is up, and he and his merry men come dancing down
the hillside, we will blow them up as high as his mountains. But you
needn't tell him that, either. And if he is proud and haughty, and would
rather fight, ask him to restrain himself until we show what we can do
with our weapons at two hundred yards."

Stedman seated himself in the long grass in front of the King, and with
many revolving gestures of his arms, and much pointing at Gordon, and
profound nods and bows, retold what Gordon had dictated. When he had
finished, the King looked at the bundle of presents, and at the guns, of
which Stedman had given a very wonderful account, but answered nothing.

"I guess," said Stedman, with a sigh, "that we will have to give him a
little practical demonstration to help matters. I am sorry, but I think
one of those goats has got to die. It's like vivisection. The lower
order of animals have to suffer for the good of the higher."

"Oh," said Bradley, Jr., cheerfully, "I'd just as soon shoot one of
those niggers as one of the goats."

So Stedman bade the King tell his men to drive a goat towards them, and
the King did so, and one of the men struck one of the goats with his
spear, and it ran clumsily across the plain.

"Take your time, Bradley," said Gordon. "Aim low, and if you hit it,