“I, I,” answered WS.
“WS answers,” interpreted Jones.
Steadying himself with a deep breath, Alex proceeded to carry out his plan. Carefully reaching forth with his foot beneath the table, he pressed the two wires together, then loudly clicked his key. The instruments, thus “cut out,” of course failed to respond.
“The wire appears to have opened,” announced Jones. “Probably the man at WS has opened his key while getting a blank or a pen.”
Again Alex clicked the key as though in a futile effort to send, then leaving it open, thus holding the instruments on the table “dead,” began ticking his foot against the impromptu key beneath the table.
And while the instruments at Bixton remained momentarily silent, the surprised operator at Watson Siding read in draggy but decipherable signals the words:
“Read every other word.”
“Come on! Come on!” exclaimed the man in the doorway, turning suspiciously. Immediately Alex withdrew his foot and closed the key, and at the resulting audible click Jones announced: “The wire has closed. He can send now.”
“All right. Come ahead,” commanded the short man, impatiently.
Then very deliberately, with a pause after each word, seemingly to enable Jones to interpret, but really to give himself time to send another word, unheard, beneath the table, Alex sent on the key, and Jones read aloud, the following message: