With Beryl, and Iris, he had dined an hour ago, after which Beryl had gone for a flight in “The Hornet.” She had been away more than half-an-hour when, seated alone, he drained his liqueur, placed his cigarette-end in the ash-tray, and glanced anxiously at his wrist-watch.
Then he had gone out into the calm June night.
Passing from the spacious gardens surrounding the Court—ill-kept nowadays, for all the men were serving in the Army—he went down to “The Hornet’s Nest.”
He opened the sliding door sufficiently to allow himself to enter, and for the next hour he was busy within. At last he reappeared with an old, wide-mouthed kitbag, similar to those used by hunting men in pre-war days.
Carrying it across the field to the opposite corner, he opened it beneath the high elm-tree which they were always compelled to avoid in their ascents or descents. Then he took out a coil of black-enamelled wire, the end of which bore a lead plummet. Carefully examining the coil, he held it loosely in his hand and, stepping back a few paces, quickly swung the lead around his head half-a-dozen times, and then, with a sudden jerk, released it, sending it high up into the branches of the tree, where it remained with its wire attached. A few feet down the wire, towards the ground, there had been inserted a brown porcelain insulator, while, as the airman paid out the wire, receding from the tree as he did so, a second insulator came into view.
Having let out sufficient wire, he at last pegged its end to the ground. Thus, from the grass to the tree, stretched up a long single wire. From his square-mouthed bag he took out a small box of polished mahogany and, opening it, there was disclosed within a complete little wireless set. A small mat of copper gauze he took also from the bag and, spreading it upon the damp grass as an “earth,” he connected up his instruments with expert hand.
Presently he glanced at the watch on his wrist; by this time the twilight was rapidly falling, the mists were rising, and a few sparks of light could be seen twinkling deep down in the grey valley. Then he removed his cap and, assuming the double head ’phones, carefully adjusted his detector and listened attentively.
From anyone passing along the high road he was entirely hidden from view. The possession of wireless was forbidden under heavy penalty by the Defence of the Realm Act, but Ronnie Pryor was one of the fortunate few whose permits for experiment had been recently renewed by the Admiralty.
“H’m!” he exclaimed aloud. “There’s Norddeich going strong, sending out the usual German official lies—and also the Eiffel Tower. Two budgets of official war news at the same time!”
Again he listened with great patience and attention, as he knelt upon the grass. The neat little installation was, of course, for receiving only, there being no electrical current for transmission. A small, round ebonite handle at the end of the box he turned backwards and forwards very slowly, altering his wave-length ever and anon, making it longer or shorter in order to “tune” himself to the message he was apparently expecting.