Crew and passengers
alike underwent the most rigid questioning, the high and the low,
the rich and the poor, the young and the old.
Early that morning, in fact some time prior to the time that Percival
told his story, the wireless operator reported that his transmitter
was out of order. While he was satisfied that the apparatus had
not been tampered with, he was plainly affected by the rather grim
coincidence. He was an old and trusted man in the service, competent,
efficient and loyal.
His assistant, the night operator, however, had made less than half
a dozen voyages on the Doraine. He was an Englishman, a cripple;
twice he had been rescued after vessels on which he sailed were sent
to the bottom by German submarines. His credentials were flawless.
He was on duty during the night just past, and had picked up several
indistinct, incomplete radio messages. There was nothing wrong with
the receiving or transmitting apparatus when he went off duty at six
in the morning, and as his superior came on at the same hour,--they
exchanged greetings at the door of the wireless house,--it was
absolutely impossible for any one to have entered the well-guarded
room without attracting attention.
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