The Admiral half-rose. He stretched out his hand, then drew it back.
"The wireless!" exclaimed the Ambassador.
The aide's troubled voice replied. Whatever the necessity he knew that it was a crucial one.
"The mast was displaced by to-day's earthquake," he said. "The system is temporarily useless."
There was a moment of blank silence. The Admiral sat staring straight before him. The only sign of agitation was his labored breathing.
"Can a horse get through?"
The other shook his head. "Not under three hours. It would have to be by détour—and there are no relays."
"A motor car?"
"Impossible!" exclaimed the Ambassador. "By the long road and in better weather my Mercedes can not do it under eighty minutes."
The Admiral lifted himself from his chair. His eyes were bloodshot and on his forehead tiny veins had sprung out in branching clusters of purple.