Part 14 (1/2)
Stedman raised his arm half-heartedly to give the time, and opened his mouth; but his arm remained fixed and his mouth open, while his eyes stared at the retreating boat of the German man-of-war. In the stern sheets of this boat, the stout German captain was struggling unsteadily to his feet; he raised his arm and waved it to some one on the great man-of-war, as though giving an order. The natives looked from Stedman to the boat, and even Gordon stopped in his cheering and stood motionless, watching. They had not very long to wait. There was a puff of white smoke, and a flash, and then a loud report, and across the water came a great black ball skipping lightly through and over the waves, as easily as a flat stone thrown by a boy. It seemed to come very slowly. At least it came slowly enough for every one to see that it was coming directly towards the bra.s.s cannon. The Bradleys certainly saw this, for they ran as fast as they could, and kept on running. The ball caught the cannon under its mouth, and tossed it in the air, knocking the flag-pole into a dozen pieces, and pa.s.sing on through two of the palm-covered huts.
”Great Heavens, Gordon!” cried Stedman; ”they are firing on us.”
But Gordon's face was radiant and wild.
”Firing on _us_!” he cried. ”On _us_! Don't you see? Don't you understand? What do _we_ amount to? They have fired on the American flag. Don't you see what that means? It means war. A great international war. And I am a war correspondent 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 s.h.i.+p to see another puff of white smoke, but there came no such sign. The two row-boats were raised, there was a cloud of black smoke from the funnel, a creaking of chains sounding faintly across the water, and the s.h.i.+p 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 further out at sea. They will land men and then sh.e.l.l the town, and the land forces will march here and cooperate 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, delegated his authority, as also did the leader of the Hillmen, to King Tallaman, or the Peacemaker, who tore down the German flag, and raised that of the United States in its place. At the same moment the flag was saluted by the battery. This salute, being mistaken for an attack on the _Kaiser_, was answered by that vessel. Her first shot took immediate effect, completely destroying the entire battery of the Opekians, cutting down the American flag, and destroying the houses of the people--”
”There was only one bra.s.s cannon and two huts,” expostulated Stedman.
”Well, that was the whole battery, wasn't it?” asked Gordon, ”and two huts is plural. I said houses of the people. I couldn't say two houses of the people. Just you send this as you get it. You are not an American consul at the present moment. You are an under-paid agent of a cable company, and you send my stuff as I write it. The American residents have taken refuge in the consulate--that's us,” explained Gordon, ”and the English residents have sought refuge in the woods--that's the Bradleys. King Tellaman--that's me--declares his intention of fighting against the annexation. The forces of the Opekians are under the command of Captain Thomas Bradley--I guess I might as well made him a colonel--of Colonel Thomas Bradley, of the English army.
”The American consul says--Now, what do you say, Stedman? Hurry up, please,” asked Gordon, ”and say something good and strong.”
”You get me all mixed up,” complained Stedman, plaintively. ”Which am I now, a cable operator or the American consul?”
”Consul, of course. Say something patriotic and about your determination to protect the interests of your government, and all that.” Gordon bit the end of his pencil impatiently, and waited.
”I won't do anything of the sort, Gordon,” said Stedman; ”you are getting me into an awful lot of trouble, and yourself too. I won't say a word.”
”The American consul,” read Gordon, as his pencil wriggled across the paper, ”refuses to say anything for publication until he has communicated with the authorities at Was.h.i.+ngton, but from all I can learn he sympathizes entirely with Tellaman. Your correspondent has just returned from an audience with King Tellaman, who asks him to inform the American people that the Monroe doctrine will be sustained as long as he rules this island. I guess that's enough to begin with,” said Gordon.
”Now send that off quick, and then get away from the instrument before the man in Octavia begins to ask questions. I am going out to precipitate matters.”
Gordon found the two kings sitting dejectedly side by side, and gazing grimly upon the disorder of the village, from which the people were taking their leave as quickly as they could get their few belongings piled upon the ox-carts. Gordon walked amongst them, helping them in every way he could, and tasting, in their subservience and grat.i.tude, the sweets of sovereignty. When Stedman had locked up the cable office and rejoined him, he bade him tell Messenwah to send three of his youngest men and fastest runners back to the hills to watch for the German vessel and see where she was attempting to land her marines.
”This is a tremendous chance for descriptive writing, Stedman,” said Gordon, enthusiastically, ”all this confusion and excitement, and the people leaving their homes and all that. It's like the people getting out of Brussels before Waterloo, and then the scene at the foot of the mountains, while they are camping out there, until the Germans leave. I never had a chance like this before.”
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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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.