st these improvements as coming from yourself."

"I don't understand," said Gordon; "who could they come from?"

"Well," said Stedman, "if you will allow me to advise,--and you see I
know these people pretty well,--I would have all these suggestions come
from the President direct."

"The President!" exclaimed Gordon; "but how? what does the President
know or care about Opeki? and it would take so long--oh, I see, the
cable. Is that what you have been doing?" he asked.

"Well, only once," said Stedman, guiltily; "that was when he wanted to
turn me out of the consul's office, and I had a cable that very
afternoon, from the President, ordering me to 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 nines. And after you get yours ready," he added, as he turned
into his room for the night, "I'll train one that will sweep yours off
the face of the island. For _this_ American consul can pitch three
curves."

The best-laid plans of men go far astray, sometimes, and the great and
beautiful city that was to rise on the coast of Opeki was not built in a
day. Nor was it eve