Jap, with a friendly grin on his face, but a Jap all the same, most
certainly and without the slightest doubt a Jap. He looked around the
bare office and said in fluent English: "I must ask you to remain in
this room for the present." With these words he raised his revolver and
kept a sharp eye on the five occupants.

Johnny jumped up and felt instinctively for the revolver in his hip
pocket, but in a flash the muzzle of the Jap's gun was pointed straight
at him and mechanically he obeyed the order "Hands up!"

"Hand that thing over here," said the Jap; "you might take it into your
head to use it," and he took Johnny's revolver and put it in his pocket.
Several Japanese soldiers passed by outside. Mr. Allen sank down on a
chair; not one of them could make head or tail of the situation.

They were kept waiting for half an hour. Down below in the street, where
the wagons were beginning to rattle over the pavement, could be heard
the steady march of bodies of soldiers, frequently interrupted by the
noise of motor-cycles. There could no longer be any doubt--the affair
was getting serious.

The lamps were extinguished and the gray light of dawn filled the rooms
as the head Postmaster made his rounds, guarded by a Japanese officer.

The official was perspiring profusely from sheer nervousness. He begged
the employees to keep calm, and assured them that it was no joke, but
that San Francisco was really in the hands of the Japanese. It was the
duty of the employees and the citizens, he said, to refrain from all
resistance, so that a worse misfortune--a bombardment, he added in a
whisper--might not befall the city.

The men were obliged to give up any weapons they had in their
possession, and these were collected by the Japanese. At seven o'clock,
when these details had been attended to, and the few telegraph
instruments which were kept in commission were being used by Japanese
operators--all the others had been rendered useless by the removal of
some parts of the mechanism--one of the regular operators asked to be
allowed to speak to the Postmaster. Permission having been granted by
the Japanese guard, he told his chief, in a low voice, that the moment
the Japanese soldiers had taken possession of the telegraph room he had
hurriedly dispatched a message to Sacramento, telling them that San
Francisco had been surprised by the Japanese fleet and that the whole
city was occupied by Japanese troops.

"I thank you in the na