But the next morning, Dot was summoned to Chief Wren Merrivale’s office. Her stomach clenched with nerves.
“Why me?” she whispered to Alice. “What did I do?”
“It will be fine,” Alice assured her. “Merrivale loves you.”
That didn’t calm Dot nearly enough. She knocked then waited outside the office door until the Chief Wren invited her in. Dot pasted on a calm expression in an effort to disguise her terror.
“Please take a seat,” the Chief Wren said. “I have been going over your file. In particular, I read the note left by the recruiter at your initialinterview to join. I’m sure you are already aware that your typing speed is very impressive, as is your Morse code.”
Dot sat on her hands, waiting for thehowever.
“We are seeking young women who are particularly suited as wireless operators. Wireless telegraphists, actually. Could you see yourself in that role?”
For a split second, Dot wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. She’d been so focused on expecting bad news, this came out of nowhere. Then she understood the question, and her heart soared. Wireless telegraphist! She’d known all those laps around the gym would pay off some day! Her hands moved to her lap, where they linked together.
“I would like that very much, Chief Wren,” she said, keeping her words as slow as possible. “I feel I would excel in radio communication. My father operated a Marconi in the last war.”
“That’s very interesting. I imagine you’ve spoken with him about it, and you understand the point of radiotelegraphy.”
“Communication between two points,” Dot recited from her father’s lessons, “made through pulses of radio waves sent out in Morse code patterns, spelling out messages.”
“Precisely. We use it to receive messages from various points around the world to track our own positions and those of the enemy.”
“You can receive messages from all around the world?”
“Yes, and send them. Through radio waves. You will learn more about that later. For now, you will be trained to translate the sounds you hear so you can track the enemy or provide navigational support to our men. Think of how important that is. Your work with Morse code might one day prevent a tragedy a world away.”
Her throat tightened with emotion. The conversation with her father about the SSCaribouseemed like so long ago, but she remembered it clear as day. She’d asked if that tragedy could have been prevented, and if he could have done anything to stop it in his day. He had shaken his head, but he had also told her that technology had changed. This was exactly what he had been talking about. She couldn’t wait to tell him.
“Thank you for this opportunity, Chief Wren.” She hesitated, unsure if it might be too personal a story to share. “My love of Morse code is what resulted in my nickname. My sister Margaret is called Dash.”
Chief Wren Merrivale graced Dot with one of the first genuine smiles she’d seen so far, and Dot was reminded of Dash’s Tootsie Roll comment. The chief Wren was quite pretty when she smiled. Dash was always suggesting to Dot that she relax for exactly that same reason.
“I recall your sister, but I didn’t know the origin of that nickname of hers. I don’t remember her being as talented as you with Morse code, though.”
“No, ma’am. I mean, she’s good, but she is called Dash because she’s always moving. My sister is a mechanic.”
“I remember that.” She stood again. “Come with me, please.”
Dot followed her past the typing room, where she spotted Alice at work. Her friend glanced up from her work, her raised eyebrows questioning, but Dot could only shrug. At the end of the hall, the chief Wren opened the door to another room, and Dot’s pulse picked up. A dozen or so radio receivers were lined up against the walls, and she couldn’t help thinking of her father.
“I’d like to see how you might do as a receiver. Take a seat, if you would, and slip on those headphones. They are, as you can see, connected to this radio. I want you to listen and tell me what you hear.”
Dot put them on eagerly and closed her eyes to concentrate, but the sounds were faint and indistinguishable from each other. A whirling universe of peeps and beeps flying by at lightning speed. She glanced up, confused.
“Don’t give up yet.”
Chief Wren Merrivale adjusted one of the dials, and the cacophony of noise suddenly concentrated, as if she’d turned the knob on a pair of binoculars and focused the view.
“Listen for one line of Morse code. You are not expected to understand what it says, since most is done using ciphers. I just want to know if you hear what they are sending. Can you hear it?”
Dot’s mind opened wide with wonder. Oh yes, she heard it. Now that she understood what to listen for, the dots and dashes formed letters in her head as clearly as if she were writing the alphabet. Was she hearing a directive from the German Navy? Was it a location beacon? A world of messages floated out there, and in Dot’s mind, each one was a puzzle to be solved. When the chief Wren slipped a paper and pencil into her hand, Dot dove in, printing out the letters as they sped by.
“Excellent. That’s what I thought,” Chief Wren Merrivale said after Dot reluctantly removed her headphones.
“You should be very, very pleased with the work you have done here, Wren Wilson. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the effort you put in over the past three weeks. You have excelled in every department throughout your term. Your enthusiastic participation in all classes has been exemplary, including the basic training in the gymnasium. And for someone who arrived here so terribly shy, you have made great strides in expanding your social circle. Your fellow trainees seem quite fond of you. As am I.” She touched the radio. “I believe working with wireless telegraphy is where you belong, and I can tell you’re pleased with that.” She handed Dot an envelope with an official stamp from the WRCNS. “You have earned this. Congratulations.”
Dot read through the letter once then again, astounded by what was printed there, then she raced breathlessly back to her bed to grab her stationery.
