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Page 72
"Well, the consul can't complain of this," he said, with a laugh of
satisfaction; and pulling on a bath-robe, he stepped into the next
room to awaken Captain Travis. But the room was quite empty, and the
bed undisturbed. The consul's trunk remained just where it had been
placed near the door, and on it lay a large sheet of foolscap, with
writing on it, and addressed at the top to Albert Gordon. The
handwriting was the consul's. Albert picked it up and read it with
much anxiety. It began abruptly
The fishermen who brought us to this forsaken spot tell me that
it rains here six months in the year, and that this is the first
month. I came here to serve my country, for which I fought and
bled, but I did not come here to die of rheumatism and pneumonia.
I can serve my country better by staying alive; and whether it
rains or not, I don't like it. I have been grossly deceived, and
I am going back. Indeed, by the time you get this, I will be on
my return trip, as I intend leaving with the men who brought us
here as soon as they can get the sail up. My cousin, Senator
Rainsford, can fix it all right with the President, and can have
me recalled in proper form after I get back. But of course it
would not do for me to leave my post with no one to take my
place, and no one could be more ably fitted to do so than
yourself; so I feel no compunctions at leaving you behind. I
hereby, therefore, accordingly 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."
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