"Something has transpired of great moment. There is no time to deal with it by the ordinary channels. It is of the first importance--the _first_ importance!--that I reach Yokohama within the hour. You will call up Shimbashi and order a special train with right of way. This admits of _no delay_! Send for my carriage at once. You will accompany me. We leave in ten minutes." The _aide_ went out quickly while he seated himself at his desk and began to write rapidly. "Two battle-ships!" he said suddenly, wheeling in his seat. "With the human lives on them! Perhaps even war between two or more nations! Gods of my ancestors! All this to hang on the loyalty of a mere girl!" The Ambassador, pacing the floor, snapped the lid of his watch. "It must still be close to two hours of sunrise," he said in an agitated voice. "Surely there is time!" The Admiral was consulting an almanac when the _aide_ reëntered. "Here is a telegram," he said. "Put it on the wire at once. It must arrive before us." "Excellency," said the _aide_, "the train is not possible. The service to Yokohama ceased at six o'clock. The rains--there is a washout." His chief pondered swiftly. "It must be left to others, then. Call up the emergency long-distance for Yokohama and give me a clear wire at once to the Governor's residence. I must make the telegraphic instructions fuller." He bent over the desk. Trepidation was on the _aide's_ face when he returned this time. "Excellency the accident to the line was the failure of the bridge over the Rokuga-gawa. It carried both the telegraph and telephone conduits. No wire will be working before noon to-morrow." The Admiral half-rose. He stretched out his hand, then drew it back. "The wireless!" exclaimed the Ambassador. The _aide's_ troubled voice replied. Whatever the necessity he knew that it was a crucial one. "The mast was displaced by to-day's earthquake," he said. "The system is temporarily useless." There was a moment of blank silence. The Admiral sat staring straight before him. The only sign of agitation was his labored breathing. "Can a horse get through?" The other shook his head. "Not under three hours. It would have to be by _détour_--and there are no relays." "A motor car?" "Impossible!" exclaimed the Ambassador. "By the long road and in better weather my Mercedes can not do it under eighty minutes." The Admiral lifted himself from his chair. His eyes were bloodshot and on his forehead tiny veins had sprung out in branching clusters of purple.