espondent at last!" He ran up
to Stedman and seized him by the arm so tightly that it hurt.

"By three o'clock," he said, "they will know in the office what has
happened. The country will know it to-morrow when the paper is on the
street; people will read it all over the world. The Emperor will hear
of it at breakfast; the President will cable for further particulars.
He will get them. It is the chance of a lifetime, and we are on the
spot!"

Stedman did not hear this; he was watching the broadside of the ship to
see another puff of white smoke, but there came no such sign. The two
rowboats were raised, there was a cloud of black smoke from the funnel,
a creaking of chains sounding faintly across the water, and the ship
started at half-speed and moved out of the harbor. The Opekians and
the Hillmen fell on their knees, or to dancing, as best suited their
sense of relief, but Gordon shook his head.

"They are only going to land the marines," he said; "perhaps they are
going to the spot they stopped at before, or to take up another
position farther out at sea. They will land men and then shell the
town, and the land forces will march here and co-operate with the
vessel, and everybody will be taken prisoner or killed. We have the
centre of the stage, and we are making history."

"I'd rather read it than make it," said Stedman. "You've got us in a
senseless, silly position, Gordon, and a mighty unpleasant one. And
for no reason that I can see, except to make copy for your paper."

"Tell those people to get their things together," said Gordon, "and
march back out of danger into the woods. Tell Ollypybus I am going to
fix things all right; I don't know just how yet, but I will, and now
come after me as quickly as you can to the cable office. I've got to
tell the paper all about it."

It was three o'clock before the "chap at Octavia" answered Stedman's
signalling. Then Stedman delivered Gordon's message, and immediately
shut off all connection, before the Octavia operator could question
him. Gordon dictated his message in this way:--

"Begin with the date line, 'Opeki, June 22.'

"At seven o'clock this morning, the captain and officers of the German
man-of-war Kaiser went through the ceremony of annexing this island in
the name of the German Emperor, basing their right to do so on an
agreement made with a leader of a wandering tribe known as the Hillmen.
King Ollypybus, the present monarch of Opeki, dele