It was quite dark by six o’clock, and none of the three messengers had as yet returned.  Gordon walked up and down the empty plaza and looked now at the horizon for the man-of-war, and again down the road back of the village.  But neither the vessel nor the messengers bearing word of her appeared.  The night passed without any incident, and in the morning Gordon’s impatience became so great that he walked out to where the villagers were in camp and passed on half way up the mountain, but he could see no sign of the man-of-war.  He came back more restless than before, and keenly disappointed.

“If something don’t happen before three o’clock, Stedman,” he said, “our second cablegram will have to consist of glittering generalities and a lengthy interview with King Tellaman, by himself.”

Nothing did happen.  Ollypybus and Messenwah began to breathe more freely.  They believed the new king had succeeded in frightening the German vessel away forever.  But the new king upset their hopes by telling them that the Germans had undoubtedly already landed, and had probably killed the three messengers.

“Now then,” he said, with pleased expectation, as Stedman and he seated themselves in the cable office at three o’clock, “open it up and let’s find out what sort of an impression we have made.”

Stedman’s face, as the answer came in to his first message of greeting, was one of strangely marked disapproval.

“What does he say?” demanded Gordon, anxiously.

“He hasn’t done anything but swear yet,” answered Stedman, grimly.

“What is he swearing about?”

“He wants to know why I left the cable yesterday.  He says he has been trying to call me up for the last twenty-four hours, ever since I sent my message at three o’clock.  The home office is jumping mad, and want me discharged.  They won’t do that, though,” he said, in a cheerful aside, “because they haven’t paid me my salary for the last eight months.  He says—­great Scott! this will please you, Gordon—­he says that there have been over two hundred queries for matter from papers all over the United States, and from Europe.  Your paper beat them on the news, and now the home office is packed with San Francisco reporters, and the telegrams are coming in every minute, and they have been abusing him for not answering them, and he says that I’m a fool.  He wants as much as you can send, and all the details.  He says all the papers will have to put ‘By Yokohama Cable Company’ on the top of each message they print, and that that is advertising the company, and is sending the stock up.  It rose fifteen points on ’change in San Francisco to-day, and the president and the other officers are buying—­”

“Oh, I don’t want to hear about their old company,” snapped out Gordon, pacing up and down in despair.  “What am I to do? that’s what I want to know.  Here I have the whole country stirred up and begging for news.  On their knees for it, and a cable all to myself, and the only man on the spot, and nothing to say.  I’d just like to know how long that German idiot intends to wait before he begins shelling this town and killing people.  He has put me in a most absurd position.”