Just as he turned, one of the men pulled the halyards, the
ball of bunting ran up into the air, bobbed, twitched, and
turned, and broke into the folds of the German flag. At the
same moment the marines raised their muskets and fired a
volley, and the officers saluted and the sailors cheered.

"Do you see that?" cried Stedman, catching Gordon's humor, to
Ollypybus; "that means that you are no longer king, that
strange people are coming here to take your land, and to turn
your people into servants, and to drive you back into the
mountains. Are you going to submit? are you going to let that
flag stay where it is?"

Messenwah and Ollypybus gazed at one another with fearful,
helpless eyes. "We are afraid," Ollypybus cried; "we do not
know what we should do."

"What do they say?"

"They say they do not know what to do."

"I know what I'd do," cried Gordon. "If I were not an
American consul, I'd pull down their old flag, and put a hole
in their boat and sink her."

"Well, I'd wait until they get under way before you do either
of those things," said Stedman, soothingly. "That captain
seems to be a man of much determination of character."

"But I will pull it down," cried Gordon. "I will resign, as