the purser had left
them to attract his attention as soon as he came on duty.

Manila's first message, with a Hong Kong dateline, and via the
Philippine cable, was a service message, directed to Peter Moore,
"probably aboard the steamer _Persian Gulf_, at sea." The context of
this greeting was that Peter should report directly upon arrival in
Hong Kong to J. B. Whalen, representative of the Marconi Company of
America, residence, Peak Hotel.

Following this transmission the Manila operator was anxious to know
whether or not this was Peter Moore at the key; that he had been given
instructions by the night man, who claimed to be a bosom companion of
Peter Moore's, to make inquiries regarding Peter Moore's whereabouts
during the past few months.

He further expressed a profane desire to know, provided the man at the
key was Peter Moore, how in Hades he was, _where_ in Tophet he had been
keeping himself, and _why_ in Gehenna he had so mysteriously vanished
from the face of this glorious earth.

"But why all the hubbub about Peter Moore?" flashed back Peter to the
inquisitive Manila operator, who was only about two hundred miles
distant by now and rather faint with the coming up of the sun.

"Are--you--Peter--Moore?" came the faint scream.

"No, no, no!" shrieked the voluptuous white spark of the _Persian Gulf_.

"Is--he--on--board?"

"No, no, no!" rapped Peter making no effort to disguise that inimitable
sending of his.

"You--are--a--double-barreled liar!" said the Manila spark with
vehement emphasis. "No operator on the Pacific has that fist. You
might as well try to disguise the color of your eyes!"

Manila tapped his key, making a long series of thoughtful little double
dots, the operator's way of letting his listener know he is still on
the job, and thinking. Then:

"Why did you leave the _Vandalia_ at Shanghai?"

"I never left the _Vandalia_ anywhere," retorted Peter. "I've just
come up from Singapore and Singaraja way. I am taking the _Persian
Gulf_ to Hong Kong, and back to Batavia."

"No--you're--not," stated Manila's high-toned spark. "You're going to
be pinched as soon as you land in Hong Kong for deserting your ship at
Shanghai. That's a secret, for old friendship's sake."

It was now Peter's turn to tap off a singularly long row of little
double dots.

"It may be a secret, but only a thousand stations are listening in," he
said at length. "But, thanks, old-timer, just the same. If t