The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs - M. V. Carey [10]
“In Texas!” cried the lieutenant. “S-something happened in Texas.” Having gotten a grip on his speech, he took off his helmet and ran one gloved hand over his dark hair. “I don’t know what it was, but all roads in the state have been closed—all main arteries, sir.
No traffic is moving.”
“This is preposterous!” shouted Barron.
“Yes, sir,” said the lieutenant.
“I’m going to call Washington,” said Barron.
“Yes, sir,” said the lieutenant.
“The President,” Barron announced. “I’ll call the President.”
Barron stamped into his house. The windows of the big house were open, and the group gathered on the drive could hear Charles Barron dialling the telephone. There was silence for a second, then Barron jiggled the instrument.
“Blast!” he said.
He slammed out on to the back porch and down the steps. “Dratted phone’s dead!” he exclaimed. “Must be a line down!”
“No, sir,” said Lieutenant Ferrante. “I don’t think so, sir.”
“What do you mean?” Barron demanded. “What do you know about this?”
“Nothing, sir,” said the lieutenant, “except that telephones aren’t working anywhere in the area. Or radios. No radios, sir. Our orders came by wire from Washington.”
“No telephones?” demanded Barron. “No radios?”
Men and women began to drift down the lane from the cottages. They were the people who worked for Barron. They seemed frightened as they gathered in the fading light.
“It is true what he says,” said one man. “The radio, it does not work.”
“We do not have television tonight,” said another. “There was nothing on the television but a strange noise. Now there is not even that. The electricity is gone.”
“No television?” said Barron. There was an expression that was half fear and half exultation on his face. “No electricity?”
Elsie Spratt made an impatient noise. “This is a scene out of a bad movie,” she said.
Her voice was loud and determinedly cheerful. “Why would the roads be closed? That doesn’t make sense! Exactly what did it say in that wire from Washington? What happened in Texas?”
“I don’t know, ma’am,” said the lieutenant. “I wasn’t told. I just have—”
“I know, I know!” said Elsie. “You have your orders!”
She turned and went noisily up the steps of the ranch house into the big kitchen.
Through the open windows the boys saw her twist the knobs on the battery-operated radio that stood on the counter. Almost immediately the sound of music floated out to the people in the drive.
“Hah!” said Elsie. “No radio, huh?”
“One second!” said Jupe. “That music! It’s—”
“ ‘Hail to the Chief’!” said Barron. “It’s the piece the Marine Band plays when the President appears!”
The music ended, and there was a moment of silence. Then came the sound of someone clearing his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said an announcer, “the President of the United States!”
Mrs. Barron moved close to her husband. He put his arm around her.
“My friends,” said a familiar voice, “I was informed shortly after noon today that unidentified aircrafts have been sighted in parts of Texas and New Mexico and along the California coast. At this hour we have word — unconfirmed word — of landings by these craft in Fort Worth, Dallas, Taos, and San Francisco. I repeat, these reports are not confirmed.
“Let me assure you that there is no cause for alarm. Although communications in parts of the West seem to be momentarily disrupted, we have been in touch with the Kremlin and with other capitals in Europe and South America. Our relations with governments to the east and to the south have never been closer, and there is no cause for alarm… .”
“You already said that, you dolt!” snapped Barron.
“Various military units have been called out,” the voice went on, “and we ask that all citizens co-operate with these units by remaining in their homes so that strategic surface routes will not be obstructed. Please keep tuned to your local civil defence—”
There was a mighty blast of static, and Elsie Spratt’s radio went dead.
“Idiot!” said Charles Barron. “Infernal idiot! How he ever got elected! On the radio for ten minutes and he told us nothing! Absolutely nothing!