Part 9 (1/2)
There was no light.
”Did you turn it?”
”Sure.”
”Pull it out, maybe it works that way.”
There was no light, Norton paused in suspense while Nick shook the bra.s.s case and jarred the wiring to overcome a slight short circuit if there was any there.
”All right, turn it again.”
There was no light, and the two scouts stood baffled and heavy hearted in the lonely darkness.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE MESSAGE
”I'm a dumb-bell!” said Nick in a quick inspiration. ”Go down and turn on the main switch; it's in a box on the wall in the vestibule; just pull the handle down and push it in below. We'll never get any juice up here with that turned off. Hurry up.”
Norton descended the ladder and with lighted matches found his way to the vestibule where the switch-box was. Here was the big switch on which all other switches in the building depended. As he pulled it down one lonely bulb in the meeting-room brightened and cast a dim light in the musty, empty place. It was evidently the only bulb in which the individual switch was turned on. Norton went through the meeting-room and turned this off. The place smelled for all the world like a school-room.
When he reached the ladder it was bathed in light. Nick was pointing a shaft of dazzling brightness downward. It revealed spiders and split rungs on the ladder and all the litter at its foot. All the rotting framework of the place and all the disorder were drawn into the light of day. A pile of old law books became radiant, dry and dull as they were.
”We've got it,” called Nick, ”hurry up, this blamed thing will reach to the isle of Yap. What's S? Wait, I'll give 'em the high sign first.”
A long, dusty column swept across the dark sky.
”Attention everybody,” said Nick. ”What's S?”
”Three dots,” said Norton.
”Three flashes it is. How's that? I'm forgetting my A, B, C's. What's T?”
”One dash.”
”Is three seconds long enough?”
”Three for dashes and one for dots.”
”O.”
The long column swung slowly to right, then slowly back to left again, then slowly back to right.
”P's a hard one; here goes.” ”Good for you, _some_ handwriting.”