"Stubbs?" came a voice over the wire.
"Yes."
"Admiral W— talking. The armistice was signed this morning at 11 o'clock."
"What's that?" Stubbs yelled into the 'phone, jumping up and down excitedly. "Hello! Hello!"
But the voice on the other end of the wire was gone.
In vain Stubbs rattled the hook. He could not recall the voice.
"May be somebody trying to have some fun with me," muttered Stubbs. "I can't take a chance on any such message as that. I must verify it. I'll call the admiral and see if it were really he on the wire."
It took him a good five minutes to get the connection, but at the end of that time a "hello" was wafted over the wire.
"Admiral W—?" demanded Stubbs.
"Yes."