A United States Midshipman in the South Seas - Yates Stirling

Two days later Phil and Sydney said good-bye to their friends in Ukula. The war-ships “Sitka” and “Sacramento” were under orders to return to the United States.

As the two war-ships lifted their anchors, many canoes filled with natives hung in the quiet water about them. The sweet plaintive air of the Kapuan farewell song floated up to the ears of the midshipmen, really sorry to leave behind those for whom they had formed a strong bond of friendship.

Some days later the midshipmen dined in the cabin with Commander Tazewell.

“What has Herzovinia gained in Kapua after all the years of stirring up uncertainty and strife?” Sydney asked earnestly.

“Her policy has been to prove to the other nations that the islands are not worth the trouble to govern them,” the commander answered. “She has proved that the three nation control cannot be carried on with peace. She has lost her own sailors in fighting rebels and we have lost ours.

“She still persists in her desire for the islands. England and America are almost on the point of giving up the struggle. You will find,” he added, “that Herzovinia will be given most if not all of Kapua by the commission now working for a settlement there.”

The midshipmen remembered this accurate summing up when a month or so later the decision of the commission was given out to the world.

“Know what you want, and always keep wanting it and trying to get it; it’s a cinch that you can’t miss it,” was O’Neil’s moral, derived from his Kapuan experiences.