The little man was greatly elated. There were a score or more other war correspondents in Versailles and Stubbs managed to worm from them the fact that they were without information regarding the armistice. Believing his own information absolutely true, he naturally felt that he was a step or so ahead of his rivals.
On the night of November 9, Stubbs retired early. The little man slept literally with one eye open. He didn’t intend to miss anything.
He came to himself with a start. The telephone bell in his room was jingling.
"Wonder who wants me at this hour?" he muttered sleepily, and turned over, for the moment losing sight of the fact that this might be the particular call he was so anxious to get.
"May as well answer it, I guess," said Stubbs. "It won’t stop till I do."
He climbed out of bed, switched on the lights and put the receiver to his ear.
"Admiral W— talking. The armistice was signed this morning at 11 o’clock."
"What’s that?" Stubbs yelled into the ’phone, jumping up and down excitedly. "Hello! Hello!"
But the voice on the other end of the wire was gone.
In vain Stubbs rattled the hook. He could not recall the voice.
"May be somebody trying to have some fun with me," muttered Stubbs. "I can’t take a chance on any such message as that. I must verify it. I’ll call the admiral and see if it were really he on the wire."
It took him a good five minutes to get the connection, but at the end of that time a "hello" was wafted over the wire.
"This is Stubbs. Did you call me a moment ago?"
"Then it is a fact that the armistice has been signed."
"It is. I had my information not more than fifteen minutes ago."
"I just wanted to make sure it was really you who called," Stubbs explained hurriedly. "Good-bye."
He slapped the receiver back on the hook and literally flew into his clothes.
"No time for an elevator now," he muttered as he dashed out the door, through the hall and down the steps.
In the lobby downstairs half a dozen war correspondents had gathered in a little knot. They came to their feet as Stubbs dashed down the steps.
But Stubbs did not stop to reply. Out the door he dashed, his coat trailing behind him.
It was perhaps half a dozen blocks to the cable office. Stubbs covered the distance in jig time, formulating his message in his mind as he went.