The Reporter Who Made Himself King | Page 6

appoint you my substitute with full power to act, to collect all fees, sign
all papers, and attend to all matters pertaining to your office as
American consul, and I trust you will worthily uphold the name of that
country and government which it has always been my pleasure and
duty to serve.
"Your sincere friend and superior officer,
"LEONARD T. TRAVIS.
"P. S. I did not care to disturb you by moving my trunk, so I left it, and
you can make what use you please of whatever it contains, as I shall not
want tropical garments where I am going. What you will need most, I
think, is a waterproof and umbrella.
"P. S. Look out for that young man Stedman. He is too inventive. I
hope you will like your high office; but as for myself, I am satisfied
with little old New York. Opeki is just a bit too far from civilization to

suit me."
Albert held the letter before him and read it over again before he moved.
Then he jumped to the window. The boat was gone, and there was not a
sign of it on the horizon.
"The miserable old hypocrite!" he cried, half angry and half laughing.
"If he thinks I am going to stay here alone he is very greatly mistaken.
And yet, why not?" he asked. He stopped soliloquizing and looked
around him, thinking rapidly. As he stood there, Stedman came in from
the other room, fresh and smiling from his morning's bath.
"Good-morning," he said, "where's the consul?"
"The consul," said Albert, gravely, "is before you. In me you see the
American consul to Opeki.
"Captain Travis," Albert explained, "has returned to the United States. I
suppose he feels that he can best serve his country by remaining on the
spot. In case of another war, now, for instance, he would be there to
save it again."
"And what are you going to do?" asked Stedman, anxiously. "You will
not run away too, will you?"
Albert said that he intended to remain where he was and perform his
consular duties, to appoint him his secretary, and to elevate the United
States in the opinion of the Opekians above all other nations.
"They may not think much of the United States in England," he said;
"but we are going to teach the people of Opeki that America is first on
the map and that there is no second."
"I'm sure it's very good of you to make me your secretary," said
Stedman, with some pride. "I hope I won't make any mistakes. What
are the duties of a consul's secretary?"
"That," said Albert, "I do not know. But you are rather good at

inventing, so you can invent a few. That should be your first duty and
you should attend to it at once. I will have trouble enough finding work
for myself. Your salary is five hundred dollars a year; and now," he
continued, briskly, "we want to prepare for this reception. We can tell
the King that Travis was just a guard of honor for the trip, and that I
have sent him back to tell the President of my safe arrival. That will
keep the President from getting anxious. There is nothing," continued
Albert, "like a uniform to impress people who live in the tropics, and
Travis, it so happens, has two in his trunk. He intended to wear them on
State occasions, and as I inherit the trunk and all that is in it, I intend to
wear one of the uniforms, and you can have the other. But I have first
choice, because I am consul."
Captain Travis's consular outfit consisted of one full dress and one
undress United States uniform. Albert put on the dress-coat over a pair
of white flannel trousers, and looked remarkably brave and handsome.
Stedman, who was only eighteen and quite thin, did not appear so well,
until Albert suggested his padding out his chest and shoulders with
towels. This made him rather warm, but helped his general appearance.
"The two Bradleys must dress up, too," said Albert. "I think they ought
to act as a guard of honor, don't you? The only things I have are blazers
and jerseys; but it doesn't much matter what they wear, as long as they
dress alike."
He accordingly called in the two Bradleys, and gave them each a pair
of the captain's rejected white duck trousers, and a blue jersey apiece,
with a big white Y on it.
"The students of Yale gave me that," he said to the younger Bradley,
"in which to play football, and a great man gave me the other. His name
is Walter Camp; and if you rip or soil that jersey, I'll send you back to
England in