O’Neil took a deep breath and brushed an insistent fly off his forehead. “Kataafa wasn’t a bit frightened at Herzovinia,” he continued admiringly; “he’s a great fighter, Bill, I can tell you, and if we get into a row with him there’s going to be something doing. Kataafa then got a good start and went up against Samasese good and hard. A sad thing for old ‘Kat.’ Some of his warriors tore down a couple of painted Herzovinian flags and used them for ‘lava-lavas.’ The outraged commodore swore vengeance and declared war on the spot. Kataafa had to run and get his men into a fort before the Herzovinian sailors attacked him. He was just about snugly fixed when a war-ship came trailing along close to the reef to bombard this fort and the native town all around it. Just behind this ship came O’Malley’s ship, the ‘Wyoming,’ and the game old Irishman was on the bridge. He wore riding leggins, a sign that he was going to surprise somebody, and an angelic smile was spread all over his face. When the Herzovinian ship stopped and began to lower her gun ports and run out her guns for business, we followed suit. I thought we’d be on the reef, sure. O’Malley ran the ‘Wyoming’ inside the other war-ship and hung there between her and Kataafa’s fort. “The other ship made all kinds of foxy moves, but O’Malley covered the plate all the time. “It was nearly sunset when we heard a voice pipe up from the other ship. Everybody knew it was the commodore who was talking. “‘I’m going to open fire on my enemy in that town yonder in about five minutes. Kindly chase yourself.’” O’Neil glanced at Mary for a few seconds. “Those weren’t the exact words, maybe, but that was what was meant, anyway. “Captain O’Malley’s smile got bigger. He took off his white helmet and waved it encouragingly. “‘Go ahead,’ he returned. ‘I’m in the front row and have paid for my ticket. Money won’t be refunded at the box office this time.’” “What happened?” Bill Marley exclaimed eagerly. “Did you have a scrap?” “Did we have war with Herzovinia ten years ago?” O’Neil asked contemptuously. “No! of course we didn’t, or even you’d ’a’ heard of it. “The other ship gave up the game at sunset and we followed her back to Ukula,” O’Neil continued after Marley’s interruption had been settled. “A few days later the commodore tried a new stunt: to disarm the natives this time. The Herzovinians landed at night on the big plantation of Vaileli. The Kataafa warriors got news that they were coming from some women in Ukula. I’ll bet,” he said insinuatingly, “that Mary Hamilton can tell you who the women were.” Mary smiled. “I was blamed,” she replied. “My second husband was with Kataafa and I arrived a few hours before the sailors landed.”