Short Fiction · Chapter
Calloway's Code explained
H.B.
What happens
H.B. Calloway, a special correspondent for the New York Enterprise during the Russo-Japanese War, devises a clever code using common newspaper phrases to bypass a new censor and send crucial battle plans. The coded cablegram is deciphered by young reporter Vesey, leading to a major news beat.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Calloway's code deceives the censor, appearing as mundane requests while conveying secret military plans.
Humor and Irony
The code relies on clichéd newspaper phrases, and the misinterpretation of 'great' as 'conditions white' leads to a humorous error about snow in May.
Ambition and Failure
Calloway's ambition to get the story past the censor succeeds, while the London paper's false account fails.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrative voice that recounts the events.
- Billy Keogh
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Andy Donovan
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- The Captain
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Johnny Atwood
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Jim
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Lorison
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- David Mignot
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Samuel Tansey
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Annie Williams
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Ranse Truesdell
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Octavia Beaupree
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- The General
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Miss Alice
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Jeff Peters
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Willie Robbins
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- The Colonel
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- The Doctor
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Curly
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Aileen
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Fergus O'Hollihan
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mame Dugan
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Hetty Pepper
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- The Hermit
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Whistling Dick
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Dan McMullen
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Lawyer Gooch
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Grandemont Charles
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Van Sweller
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Simmons
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Dry Valley Johnson
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Yancey Goree
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Barney O'Connor
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Curtis Raidler
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Dicky Maloney
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Shamrock Jolnes
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Cork McManus
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Denver Galloway
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Teddy Westlake
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Frank Goodwin
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Beelzebub Blythe
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Thomas McQuade
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Tom Hopkins
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Soapy
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Ives
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Webb Yeager
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Nevada Warren
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mr. Morley
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mac McGowan
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Señor Goodwin
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Young Murray
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Luke Summers
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Jimmy Valentine
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mr. Peters
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Uncle Bushrod
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Vallance
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mrs. Conant
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Joe Larrabee
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Maggie Toole
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Injunction Cherokee
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Old Uncle Jake
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- George Ringo
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Doc Millikin
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Cricket McGuire
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Tom Lawson
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Tonia Perez
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Willard Geddie
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Francis Kearny
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Mr. Blinker
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Señor White
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Perry Rountree
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Fuzzy
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Buck Patterson
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Tobin
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Robert Walmsley
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Thomas McLeod
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Jacob Spraggins
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Thacker
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Bob Hart
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
- Billy Pemberton
Not directly present; the story focuses on the Enterprise staff.
Key passages
“It's simply newspaper English. I've been reporting on the Enterprise long enough to know it by heart. Old Calloway gives us the cue word, and we use the word that naturally follows it just as we use 'em in the paper.”
Vesey explains that the code is based on common newspaper phrases where each cue word is paired with its typical successor.
Vesey deciphers the code by recognizing standard journalistic collocations.
“Great stuff! Kuroki crosses the Yalu tonight and attacks. Oh, we won't do a thing to the sheets that make up with Addison's essays, real estate transfers, and bowling scores!”
Boyd exclaims that the decoded message reveals Kuroki's plan to cross the Yalu and attack, giving the Enterprise a major scoop over rival papers.
The excitement of the staff upon decoding the message.
“Only one error was made; and that was the fault of the cable operator at Wi-ju. Calloway pointed it out after he came back. The word 'great' in his code should have been 'gage,' and its complemental words 'of battle.' But it went to Ames 'conditions white,' and of course he took that to mean snow.”
A transmission error changed 'gage of battle' to 'conditions white,' leading Ames to write about a snowstorm during the May battle.
The humorous mistake in the otherwise successful decoding.
