"A cable?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Well, sit down at that little table and write."
He dictated in French:
"Father Fields' Mission, Dacca:
"Thanks for letter. Please send by cable, reply prepaid, twenty words ... name of friend who received last news, date of letter. Send also name of the Reverend Father at Dehra. Inform him that I shall write him immediately. Paindavoine."
"Translate that into English and make it shorter rather than longer, if possible. At one franc sixty centimes a word, we must not waste words. Write very clearly."
The translation was quickly made.
"How many words?" he asked.