He ran across the street with it and came back. The head office had a
direct wire, and the answer came a minute after Flannery reached the
waiting Mr. Warold.

"Westcote. Give fuller particulars. Name consignor. Contents. Objection
to receiving. (Signed) Franklin."

Flannery showed the message to Mr. Warold, and then took up his pen
again.

"President Interurban, Franklin," he wrote, "Consinor Westcote tag
company, tags in it. o is in phenix and ph in sulfur and u in armordale.
Westcote."

The president sitting in his private office, received the message and
wrinkled his brow as he read it. Telegraphing does not always improve
the legibility of a message. As the message reached the president it
read:

"Consinor westcote tag company tag sis in it oisin phenix phin sulfur
uin armordale."

The president reached for his pile of various code-books and looked up
the strange words. He found "phoenix" in one codebook with its meaning
given as "extremely ill, death imminent." "Oisin" was not given, but the
word "oisanite" was, and the meaning of that the code stated to be "five
hundred head prime steers." It was enough. The Interurban did not wish
to accept the transportation of five hundred extremely ill steers, whose
death was imminent.