their fortunes, and that this sort of descriptive writing is
not what the company want."

"What's he think I'm here for?" cried Gordon. "Does he think
I pulled down the German flag and risked my neck half a dozen
times and had myself made King just to boom his Yokohama cable
stock? Confound him! You might at least swear back. Tell
him just what the situation is in a few words. Here, stop
that rigmarole to the paper, and explain to your home office
that we are awaiting developments, and that, in the meanwhile,
they must put up with the best we can send them. Wait; send
this to Octavia."

Gordon wrote rapidly, and read what he wrote as rapidly as it
was written.

"Operator, Octavia. You seem to have misunderstood my first
message. The facts in the case are these. A German
man-of-war raised a flag on this island. It was pulled down
and the American flag raised in its place and saluted by a
brass cannon. The German man-of-war fired once at the flag
and knocked it down, and then steamed away and has not been
seen since. Two huts were upset, that is all the damage done;
the battery consisted of the one brass cannon before
mentioned. No one, either native or foreign, has been
massacred. The English residents are two sailors. The
American residents are the young man who is sending you this
cable and myself. Our first message was quite true in
substance, but perhaps misleading in detail. I made it so
because I fully expected much more to happen immediately.