“I wouldn’t,” he said. “Sending names of persons, even disguised in as good a code as yours, involves a terrible risk.”
“It’s a terrible risk if we don’t,” said Evans earnestly. “We are staking the whole war on our naval strategy, and what will all our strategy avail with a thing like this at the heart of our communication system in Washington? Every bit of evidence we can get may be needed to dislodge him. The risk of leakage in communicating with Heringham is nothing to the risk of leaving Rich where he is.”
Barton thought awhile.
“You are right,” he said at last. “Send your message to Heringham and, when we hear from him, I’ll see whether it’s best to go to Washington, or what to do.”
Once more Evans tested a transmitter. For twenty-four hours he waited, on pins and needles, and during those twenty-four hours both Kendrick and Heringham lost some sleep, too; also some one in Constantinople who knew how to make Bela talk did so. The return message which Evans deciphered from the radio traffic at Gibraltar caused him to go to Barton and urge on him more insistently than ever the importance of his going at once to Washington. Thereupon Barton made a call on Captain Fraser, and in consequence of this call some unusual orders were drawn up and signed.
The same day as the conference with Barton which resulted in the message to Heringham, Evans happened to pass Ensign Coffee on the deck of the flagship Delaware. Coffee glared savagely at him, realizing that, though he did not know why or how, some power above himself had caused the punishment he had sought to inflict on this insubordinate warrant officer to be so mitigated as to amount to little or nothing. At least, here he was walking the deck as freely as ever, but four days after his attempt to jump ship, when he should by rights still be confined to his room, if not in irons.
“That reminds me,” said Evans to himself, “that there’s one more bit of house-cleaning needed on this ship. I’d better attend to that now before I forget it.”
He knew that his agents in the Bureau of Engineering were now able to handle his messages to Mortimer; so he went to the radio room and once again “tested a transmitter.” With his hand on the key he made the cryptic dots and dashes which the powerful transmitter translated into silent ether waves speeding across the sea, while the operator on watch sat listlessly by, waiting for him to finish.
“The gear’s working well,” said Evans; then rising, handed the head-phones back to the operator, and returned to his room, where he got out some warm clothing and made ready for a long journey on which he must travel light.
The next morning in Washington Rand transmitted to Secretary Mortimer the following message: