But they did enjoy Hong Kong to the utmost while they were there.  They called first, of course, upon the American consul, whom they found to be an exceedingly pleasant man.  They learned, to their great surprise, that he had read of Archie Dunn, and of Bill Hickson, too, in the Enterprise, and Archie began to think that his paper had a much wider circulation than even the editors claimed for it.  He thought it very remarkable, at first, that a man living in Hong Kong should have read about his Philippine experiences in a New York paper, but of course, after he thought of it awhile, it didn’t seem such a very remarkable thing, after all.  And after this, when they heard of people having read of them, they weren’t so much surprised, having come to realise the tremendous circulation of this paper.

The consul did all in his power to make their stay in Hong Kong pleasant.  He was anxious to have a formal dinner for them, but Bill Hickson said that he would much prefer not having to dress up, and Archie was willing for Bill’s sake to forego the honour.  So they spent their two days in going about the city, visiting the quaint Chinese shops, and seeing everything of particular interest.  They found many wonderful things to look at, and Archie said that he couldn’t imagine any more delightful place; but Bill told him to wait until they reached Japan, for he’d find that much more charming than Hong Kong.  “I’ve been there before,” said Bill, “and I know what I’m talkin’ about, and I say there ain’t no such place on earth as Japan for interestin’ things to look at, and pleasant things to do.”  And when, a few days later, Archie was initiated into some of the mysteries of Japanese life by his experienced friend, he was willing to admit the truth of all he had heard concerning the land of the chrysanthemum.  He found everything quite beyond his expectations.  The people themselves were more quaint in their dress and manners than he had expected to find them, and the houses and the pagodas were much more picturesque than he had imagined they would be.  And the whole atmosphere of the country seemed filled with romance and history, and it wasn’t at all hard to believe that the Japanese have longer family trees than any other nation on earth.

They spent a few days travelling through the provincial districts of the little kingdom, and then they reached Tokio, where Bill was anxious to spend several days.  “I know some folks here who can take us around and show us everything that’s worth seeing,” he said, “and we can spend our time to better advantage here than anywhere else I know of.”  And sure enough, Bill did know some people in the capital city, some pleasant English people, who had met the open-hearted Westerner when he was in the city years before, and who had at once appreciated the true nobility of his character.  They were very kind to Archie,—­ so kind that the lad thought he had never before met such pleasant people.  And they were thoroughly