Klinger sulked in silence, and the count continued: “The last mail steamer carried Kataafa’s appeal for annexation. It was to be cabled from San Francisco to our government. An answer should reach here now in a few days. The news of the war of course is now known everywhere, but I am sure our own war-ship with instructions for us will arrive first. The United States may beat us, but upon the appearance of a Yankee ship I’m going to hoist the flag. Even sooner if I hear from our man on the Yankee ship anything alarming.” “Why do you take such chances?” Klinger asked surlily. “We’re in power. The English and Americans are afraid to act without orders from home. Hoist the flag and be done with it!” “Klinger,” the count replied haughtily, “as long as you keep within your limitations as a manager of a commercial firm, grabbing land from defenseless natives and using it to increase the income of your company, then I am willing to listen to your advice, but when you make bold to advise me upon matters of state, you make yourself ridiculous. This savage kingdom is isolated from the great world,” he continued in a more kindly tone of explanation as he saw the look of apology in the rough overseer’s face. “The nearest cable stations are San Francisco and Auckland; news of what has happened reached our capital before or as soon as it was received in Washington or London. A Herzovinian war-ship has been waiting in Auckland to bring us instructions. I do not know the present diplomatic situation. If I hoist the flag before the arrival of the war-ship, I may find the instructions are not to hoist the flag. We may be on the verge of a war with our commercial rival England over some other diplomatic difficulty, and our action here might greatly embarrass our foreign office.” “But you said,” Klinger persisted, “you would hoist the flag upon the appearance of a Yankee war-ship.” “The arrival of another Yankee war-ship must mean but one thing,” the count replied patiently, “and that would be that the United States government had decided to back the decision of the chief justice and put Panu-Mafili on the throne by force. In that case I would have to resign. Kataafa would either have to submit or else fight the white sailors. If the new arrival sees our flag flying and our sailors in possession, then the Americans and British must stop and think a long time before they use force to drive us out of the government.” “And then after that if your instructions coming on our war-ship should be not to hoist the flag?” Klinger asked. “What then?” “Then I shall send a war-ship to Auckland post-haste to tell what I have done, and to wait for an answer, and then hasten back here.” The count smiled proudly as his plan unfolded itself. “Our government could then wait to see how the news was received. If they saw it was embarrassing they could order the flag hauled down. If not, then it would remain flying permanently.”