The station
stood in a commanding position on the chalk hill that overlooks the town
from the east....
Thence he must have assisted in the transmission of the endless cipher
messages that preceded the gathering at Brissago, and there it was that
the Brissago proclamation of the end of the war and the establishment of
a world government came under his hands.
He was feeling ill and apathetic that day, and he did not realise what
it was he was transcribing. He did it mechanically, as a part of his
tedious duty.
Afterwards there came a rush of messages arising out of the declaration
that strained him very much, and in the evening when he was relieved, he
ate his scanty supper and then went out upon the little balcony before
the station, to smoke and rest his brains after this sudden and as yet
inexplicable press of duty. It was a very beautiful, still evening. He
fell talking to a fellow operator, and for the first time, he declares,
'I began to understand what it was all about. I began to see just what
enormous issues had been under my hands for the past four hours. But
I became incredulous after my first stimulation. "This is some sort of
Bunkum," I said very sagely.
'My colleague was more hopeful. "It means an end to bomb-throwing and
destruction," he said.
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