Leary received an evasive reply to this, and the relations between the two commanders became more strained. Leary did not stop with this. He sent a letter to Tamasese demanding restitution. The Germans, who had control of the local post-office, would not forward the letter, and later Leary sent another, in which he said:
"I have the honor to inform your Highness that the articles forcibly taken from the house of Mr. Scanlan by your people have not yet been returned, and that they must be restored to Mr. Scanlan without unnecessary delay, for which purpose I shall wait until sunset, Wednesday the 14th, and if it be not reported to me by that time that my demand has been complied with, I shall be at liberty to take such action as will in future _enforce a wholesome respect for the American flag_ and the laws and property under its protection.
"A red flag hoisted at the foremast of an American war-vessel simultaneously with the discharge of a blank charge will be the signal for you to remove from your fort and vicinity to a place of safety all women, children, sick, and wounded, for which purpose a liberal time will be allowed before resorting to more serious measures."
No second notice was required from Leary. Tamasese restored the property to Mr. Scanlan, including the American flag, which floated secure from insult on his property afterward.
The night telegraph operator at Orinoco Junction had the mumps. His name was Samuel Dusenberry, and he was seventeen, which is young to have so responsible a position; in fact it was Sam's first position, and he was on trial. He was also the head of his family, and in that position Sam had been heard to grumblingly remark that he was also on trial, for Phineas and Mary Jane, and even little Ajax, thought they could manage things as well as he could.
Although seventeen is young for such responsibilities as Sam's, it is disgracefully old to have the mumps--or so Sam thought, and he persisted in declaring that he hadn't, while his cheeks swelled and swelled, until his watery smarting eyes were almost concealed; and he was extremely cross when little Ajax assured him that if he felt just as if he were not Sam at all, that was the mumps, because that was the way he felt when he had 'em. Mary Jane, who attended to the family grammar, was somewhat troubled because they all spoke of the disease as plural; but Phineas stoutly maintained that this was proper when you had 'em on both sides at once, like Sam.