# Calloway's Code explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry. ## 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. ## Character check-ins ### 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 lines > 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._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/calloway-s-code - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters