"But can't I recall the dispatch—my own dispatch?" demanded the other, exposing a $100 banknote in his palm. "It is worth something to me to get it back."
The clerk was angry at the plain attempt at bribery, so he turned back to a table and took up the message the boys had left.
"We have a message here," he said, "which may be recalled under proper conditions. Kindly tell me what your dispatch says."
"Which one did they file?" asked the other. "The one to Washington or the one to New York?"
The clerk laid the paper back on the desk.
"Give me the address you sent your message to at Washington," he said.
"It was the secretary of state," was the reply.
"And the message? Give me a few opening words."
"Read them!" snarled the other. "Can't you read English?"
"The message is in cipher!" said the clerk, "You also have the address wrong. You are evidently a fraud. Get out!"