“So Klinger has again come to grief through you,” he said to Phil suppressing a smile of gratification. “I am glad you did not carry out the threat you made. I wouldn’t care to have my officers engage in fights with civilians. It doesn’t look well outside, even though it may have been justified.”
Phil acknowledged the mild rebuke.
“I know I’m too hasty,” he said humbly.
The next day news came from ashore that all the male relatives of Tuamana had been arrested for the assault on Klinger and thrown into jail. The house the midshipmen had visited the day before had been demolished by order of Klinger, and the women turned off the place.
Alice was keyed to a high pitch of excitement when the lads saw her in the afternoon.
“They tried to arrest Avao, too,” she exclaimed, “but she ran away and managed to reach the consulate, where they dared not touch her. All the land belonging to Panu’s family in Matafeli has been claimed by Klinger for his firm,” she told them almost in a breath. “Where will it all stop?”
“It won’t stop,” Phil replied savagely, “until the present outfit are put out and the legal government is put in. The treaty is being violated right and left. I can’t see what this man Count Rosen expects to gain by it. The three great Powers when they hear what is going on down here must decide that the high-handedness of Rosen and Klinger have only made things more difficult to adjust.”
“Maybe that’s where the count expects to gain,” Alice said seriously. “Maybe their country wishes to make difficulties—to show the other nations that three countries cannot together run one little group of islands without war and bloodshed.”
“I, for the life of me,” Sydney declared, “cannot see why the United States and England don’t pull up stakes and leave the islands to Herzovinia. I know we have our eyes on the fine harbor of Tua-Tua, but I can’t see when we are going to use it.”
“Maybe you can’t see!” Phil replied sarcastically, “and one reason you can’t see is that you haven’t given it a minute’s thought. Herzovinia has a body of intelligent men in her government whose duty it is to study such questions. It is quite evident those men have advised their nation to endeavor to acquire Kapua, and this is her way of trying to acquire it. The captain of the British war-ship told us the other day that he had seen their machinery of annexation work over in Africa.