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The teletypewriter began to clatter. When it fell silent, Cronley tore off the message, read it, and handed it to Mitchell.

“After you’ve read that, go get your pistol,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

PRIORITY

TOP SECRET LINDBERGH

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

FROM VINT HILL TANGO NET

1103 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945

TO BEERMUG ATTENTION ALTARBOY

REF YOUR MSG NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945

1-WELCOME TO TANGO NET

2-ACKNOWLEDGE ENCRYPTED TEXT FOLLOWING BY DECRYPTION

FDHSG ASDPW QLPDH GSHII PXCBD GOPWN ABDKD HHSDF

END

TOP SECRET LINDBERGH

—

“We will now see if the decrypt function works,” Cronley said.

He took the tape, found the encrypted message, tore it off, pushed a key that caused another green light—this one indicating EN/DECRYPTION FUNCTION ACTIVATED—to come on, and then fed the tape into the machine.

The teletypewriter began to clatter:

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ITS FLEECE WAS WHITE AS SNOW

—

“Now let’s see if it works the other way,” Cronley said, and began typing again.

The newly appointed Classified Documents NCO came back into the room—now armed with a Model 1911A1 .45 ACP in a leather holster dangling from a web belt—in time to see the end of the tape swallowed by the machine.

He leaned over and watched the teletypewriter chatter out a copy of Cronley’s reply:

PRIORITY

TOP SECRET LINDBERGH

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

FROM BEERMUG

TO VINT HILL TANGO NET

REF YOUR REPLY TO MY NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945