ands of the people who'll pay the most for them, hey?"

"Naturally," said the editor. "Captain Jinks has not studied political
economy. It's all a matter of supply and demand."

"I'm ashamed to say I haven't," said Sam. "It must be very interesting,
and I'm much obliged to you for telling me about it."

"I suppose it's too early to do anything definite about concessions for
trolleys and gas and electric-lighting plants," said the editor.

"Not a bit of it. That's what I went to see Skinner about to-day. I'm
sounding some of the chief natives already, and our people there are
all right. Skinner's lawyers are at work at the charters, and I'll
take them out with me. We can put them through as soon as we annex
the islands."

"But we promised not to annex them!" cried Sam.

The editor and Jonas looked knowingly at each other.

"The captain is not a diplomatist, you see," said the former. "As for
that matter, a soldier oughtn't to be. You understand, Captain, that
all promises are made subject to the proviso that we are able to carry
them out."

"Certainly."

"Now it's perfectly clear that we can never fulfil this promise. It is
our destiny to stay there. It would be flying in the face of Providence
and doing the greatest injury to the natives to abandon them. They
would fly at each other's throats the moment we left them alone."

"They haven't flown at each other's throats where we have left them
alone," mused Sam aloud.

"I didn't say they had, but that they would," explained the editor.

"Oh! I see," said Sam, and he relapsed into silence.

"Talking of electric lights," continued Jonas, "I've got a book here
full of all sorts of electric things that we'll have to introduce
there. There's the electrocution chair; look at that design. They
garrote people in the most barbarous manner out there now. We'll
civilize them, if we get a chance!"

"Perhaps they won't have the money to buy all your things," remarked
Cleary, who had been a silent and interested spectator of the
interview.

"Yes," said Jonas, "we may have trouble with the poorest tribes. We
must make them want things, that's all. The best way to begin is to tax
them. I've got a plan ready for a hut-tax of five dollars a year.
That's little enough, I should think, but some of them never see money
and they'll have to work to get it. That will make them work the
coal-and iron-mines. Skinner has his eye on these, t