until Captain Travis, in his hungry haste for office, had uprooted the
sad fact. Captain Travis, as well as Albert, had a secondary reason for
wishing to visit Opeki. His physician had told him to go to some warm
climate for his rheumatism, and in accepting the consulship his object
was rather to follow out his doctor's orders at his country's expense,
than to serve his country at the expense of his rheumatism.

Albert could learn but very little of Opeki; nothing, indeed, but that
it was situated about one hundred miles from the Island of Octavia,
which island, in turn, was simply described as a coaling-station three
hundred miles distant from the coast of California. Steamers from San
Francisco to Yokohama stopped every third week at Octavia, and that was
all that either Captain Travis or his secretary could learn of their new
home. This was so very little, that Albert stipulated to stay only as
long as he liked it, and to return to the States within a few months if
he found such a change of plan desirable.

As he was going to what was an almost undiscovered country, he thought
it would be advisable to furnish himself with a supply of articles with
which he might trade with the native Opekians, and for this purpose he
purchased a large quantity of brass rods, because he had read that
Stanley did so, and added to these, brass curtain chains and about two
hundred leaden medals similar to those sold by street pedlers during
the Constitutional Centennial celebration in New York City.

He also collected even more beautiful but less expensive decorations for
Christmas trees, at a wholesale house on Park Row. These he hoped to
exchange for furs or feathers or weapons, or for whatever other curious
and valuable trophies the Island of Opeki boasted. He already pictured
his rooms on his return hung fantastically with crossed spears and