“Here’s a message for you, Gordon,” said Stedman, with business-like calm.  “Albert Gordon, correspondent,” he read.  “Try American consul.  First message O.K.; beat the country; can take all you send.  Give names of foreign residents massacred, and fuller account blowing up palace.  Dodge.”

The expression on Gordon’s face as this message was slowly read off to him, had changed from one of gratified pride to one of puzzled consternation.

“What’s he mean by foreign residents massacred, and blowing up of palace?” asked Stedman, looking over his shoulder anxiously.  “Who is Dodge?”

“Dodge is the night editor,” said Gordon, nervously.  “They must have read my message wrong.  You sent just what I gave you, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Of course I did,” said Stedman, indignantly.

“I didn’t say anything about the massacre of anybody, did I?” asked Gordon.  “I hope they are not improving on my account.  What am I to do?  This is getting awful.  I’ll have to go out and kill a few people myself.  Oh, why don’t that Dutch captain begin to do something!  What sort of a fighter does he call himself?  He wouldn’t shoot at a school of porpoises.  He’s not—­”

“Here comes a message to Leonard T. Travis, American consul, Opeki,” read Stedman.  “It’s raining messages to-day.  ’Send full details of massacre of American citizens by German sailors.’  Secretary of—­great Scott!” gasped Stedman, interrupting himself and gazing at his instrument with horrified fascination—­“the Secretary of State.”

“That settles it,” roared Gordon, pulling at his hair and burying his face in his hands.  “I have got to kill some of them now.”

“Albert Gordon, correspondent,” read Stedman, impressively, like the voice of Fate.  “Is Colonel Thomas Bradley, commanding native forces at Opeki, Colonel Sir Thomas Kent-Bradley of Crimean war fame?  Correspondent London Times, San Francisco Press Club.”

“Go on, go on!” said Gordon, desperately.  “I’m getting used to it now.  Go on!”

“American consul, Opeki,” read Stedman.  “Home Secretary desires you to furnish list of names English residents killed during shelling of Opeki by ship of war Kaiser, and estimate of amount property destroyed.  Stoughton, British Embassy, Washington.”

“Stedman!” cried Gordon, jumping to his feet, “there’s a mistake here somewhere.  These people cannot all have made my message read like that.  Some one has altered it, and now I have got to make these people here live up to that message, whether they like being massacred and blown up or not.  Don’t answer any of those messages except the one from Dodge; tell him things have quieted down a bit, and that I’ll send four thousand words on the flight of the natives from the village, and their encampment at the foot of the mountains, and of the exploring party we have sent out to look for the German vessel; and now I am going out to make something happen.”