stay where I was. Ollypybus doesn't understand the cable, of
course, but he knows that it sends messages; and sometimes I
pretend to send messages for him to the President; but he
began asking me to tell the President to come and pay him a
visit, and I had to stop it."

"I'm glad you told me," said Gordon. "The President shall
begin to cable to-morrow. He will need an extra appropriation
from Congress to pay for his private cablegrams alone."

"And there's another thing," said Stedman. "In all your
plans, you've arranged for the people's improvement, but not
for their amusement; and they are a peaceful, jolly, simple
sort of people, and we must please them."

"Have they no games or amusements of their own?" asked Gordon.

"Well, not what we would call games."

"Very well, then, I'll teach them base-ball. Foot-ball would
be too warm. But that plaza in front of the King's bungalow,
where his palace is going to be, is just the place for a
diamond. On the whole, though," added the consul, after a
moment's reflection, "you'd better attend to that yourself. I
don't think it becomes my dignity as American consul to take
off my coat and give lessons to young Opekians in sliding to
bases; do you? No; I think you'd better do that. The
Bradleys will help you, and you had better begin to-morrow.
You have been wanting to know what a secretary of legation's
duties are, and now you know. It's to organize base-ball