294 ON THE TRACK OF THE MAIL-COACH 



operator provided. Had this dexterous fraud remained 

 undiscov^ered, every message passing over the wire 

 could have been read off, and the Bombay office have 

 been none the wiser. 



But these things happened many years ago, in the 

 infancy of Anglo-Indian telegraphy, and were soon 

 corrected by the growth of experience and close super- 

 vision. 



The Morse code is frequently imitated by means of 

 a two-toned whistle, the ujDper and lower notes being 

 respectively used as the equivalents of dots and 

 dashes. This plan, or one of long and short blasts, 

 might, as it seems to me, be universally turned to 

 account in steamships, as a means of signalling at 

 sea at all times, and especially in a fog. But visible 

 tapping of the fingers is the method ordinarily in 

 vogue amongst experts ashore. 



A famous mesmerist and hypnotist was dumb- 

 founded by the fact that two of his audience w^ere 

 able to communicate the numbers of certain bank- 

 notes to each other by a mere grasp of the hand. He 

 did not see, and could not guess, that the grasp 

 involved a gentle tap of the fingers of one confederate 

 on the wrist of the amateur medium. 



A droll episode once followed on ' tap ' signalling. 

 Two English telegraphists were travelling from 

 Brussels on the Grand Luxembourg Eailway towards 

 Basel. Three-fourths of the journey passed, the 

 companions having had, so far, the compartment to 

 themselves. At Strasburg they were joined by a 



