I went quickly across to the wall and at a spot about five feet from the ground behind a big laurel bush I pulled the strip away from the wall with my fingers and worked at it with file and pliers, until I had severed it.
Then, at about a foot nearer the ground, I made a nick in the copper with my file and bent it until it broke, leaving a portion of the conductor about a foot long in my hand. This I at once concealed beneath the bush, while I placed a strip of asbestos cloth against the wall beneath each of the loose ends of the copper conductor, the latter holding the protective cloth in position upon the wall. Then, when I had concluded the work to my satisfaction, I pushed back the shrub so as to conceal as far as possible the damage to the lightning-conductor, and rejoined my friend.
“I’m afraid the rector wouldn’t much approve of our work—if he knew,” laughed Teddy, as we returned to the car.
“No,” I said, adding, “I suppose you’ll spend a pretty quiet day in this place, won’t you?”
“Yes. The George looks comfortable, but not too cheerful,” was Teddy’s reply. “What time shall you fly over?”
“Just after ten. The whole village should be in bed by then. You go out of the hotel just before the place shuts, and wander up here and watch. Theed, after seeing us off, will jump into the car and come over for you at once. Meanwhile, after the experiment, you can employ your time in connecting up the broken conductor with the bit of wire cable. I’ve left it all ready under the bush.”
“By Jove, Claude!” he said enthusiastically. “I shall be standing there eager to see whether it sparks across when you turn on the current.”
“I shall do so four times—judging the distance at five hundred, one thousand, two thousand, and three thousand yards,” I said. “Then I shall flash you two shorts from the searchlight to show you that I’ve finished. Understand?”
“Quite. Afterwards I shall wait about for Theed to pick me up,” Teddy replied. “I do hope we shall meet with success.”
“We ought. The points of the lightning-conductor should pick up the intense current. We’ve proved the theory on our insulated guys upon the wireless-pole,” I said in confidence. “But, of course, we don’t want to attract too much attention here. So make up some feasible story at the hotel after I’ve left you there.”