Then suddenly the operator stopped, and there came a new sound.
They waited in tense silence.
"Answered," said the operator.
"Take this." T. B. handed him a slip of paper.
As the man sent the message out with emphatic tappings, Captain Almack took the translation that T. B. handed to him.
"To N.H.C. There is trouble here. I must see you. Important. Can you meet me in Paris to-morrow?"
After this message had gone through there was a wait of five minutes. Then the answer came, and the man at the instrument wrote down unintelligible words which T. B. translated.
"Impossible. Come to M. Will meet S.E. Have you got the book?"
"Reply 'Podaba,'" instructed T. B., spelling the word. "Now send this." He handed another slip of paper across the table, and passed the translation back to the man behind him.
"Is Gibraltar intercepting messages?"