And he conducted her past a number of huge condensers made of glass plates, and complicated looking machinery, to a big chamber built of brick, like a baker’s oven, through which all the messages passed out.
The door was open, and inside she saw a big rotary disc with copper points which the busy, bustling engineer in charge was examining prior to its use.
“Why is it called the ‘Devil’s Oven’?” asked the girl.
“Wait—and you’ll see,” he laughed, introducing her to the engineer, who was at work with his eye upon the clock, for at all hazards each day the forecast has to go out to time.
The pair stood together watching, until, a few moments later, the engineer closed the door of the spark-chamber and passed along to the great switch-board.
“You had better hold your fingers in your ears, Miss Beverley,” he said briskly, in passing. This she did, and a second later when he pulled over the big switch, a terrific noise was set up, almost enough to break the drums of the unaccustomed ear. Then, passing to a little room, the engineer rang a bell to the transmission-room in a building a little distance away.
Next moment there came three short and one long crashes in the Devil’s Oven—electric discharges which showed blood-red through the square pane of glass in the door, though they were really intensely blue, while close by, upon a heavily insulated and protected plate, two great blue sparks were being quenched by a strong forced draught of air.
Again three short crashes followed by one long—the letter “V,” the testing letter of the alphabet.
The engineer watched the spark, and at last, deciding that it was efficient to reach to every ship across the Atlantic and far north and south across land and sea for three thousand miles, went again to the little room and rang the bell to the operator signifying “O.K.”
Next moment the crashes in the Devil’s Oven became continuous as across the ocean there was sent forth the signal “C.Q.”—the general call for all to listen—followed by the signal letters of Poldhu, “M.P.D.,” and a message from the Admiralty telling captains of ships what weather they might expect for the next twenty-four hours, followed by a storm warning.