“I shall not offer to shake hands,” he said with a cynical smile of satisfaction at the success of his proposal. “We need not consider ourselves under the slightest obligation to each other. The expenses of the yacht will be paid by my syndicate through the captain of the ‘Sylvia.’ And now I wish you success as I wish it for myself.”
The door closed after him while Phil and Sydney sat gazing stupidly at each other.
“Well, of all the cast-iron nerves,” Sydney exclaimed, after he had collected his scattered wits. “Did you hear him speak of his syndicate?”
“Captain Rodgers judged the man rightly this afternoon,” Phil replied gravely. “He represents moneyed interests in Europe which are anxious to see the United States and Japan clash in a struggle which would leave both nations prostrated both physically and financially, and then the European vultures could come and pick the bones.”
Sydney had already commenced to pack up his clothes into his valises and Phil quickly followed.
“No time should be lost, Phil,” Sydney exclaimed. “I’ll go and order the carriage and get the porter.”
An hour later the two lads bade farewell to the ambassador and his daughter. Phil told him of their mission and the ambassador listened with open admiration at the daring of the plan.
“The situation is very acute,” Mr. Tillotson said soberly. “The yellow journals in America are arousing the country to war. They insist that in refusing the audience to Captain Rodgers with the Emperor, our country has been grossly insulted, and this has been reported throughout the land. The studied secrecy of Japan has quite upset America. They don’t know what to believe. If you are successful I hope our countrymen may again find their heads.”
“Is this all in the Japanese papers?” Phil asked.
“No mention is made in any paper in Japan. The people have been kept in ignorance of the sudden wave of dislike that has gone over the continent of America, but I have my information this time from a reliable source, no less a person than the prime minister himself, who has received the information from America. He called to tell me of the censorship, and that for the present all cipher messages would be held up. He was greatly surprised that the refusal of the audience was known in America since all messages were stopped. I tried to persuade him to recall Captain Inaba, assuring him that the United States did not desire to have the Chinese battle-ships, but my efforts were in vain.”