[ TT ] The world is an infinite flat plane . The furthest known points of this realm take days to contact by telegraph . Slowly communication ceases from the far west , and slowly the silence pushes closer and closer to home ...

“ Have you heard from them at all? ” The woman in the leather corsage, which she was wearing over her dress with the plaid blue-and-white skirt, had stopped twirling her sunbrella in her leather-glove-clad hands. “ I mean, it is such a strange country, after all. ” She put her hand on her chest and looked into the eyes of her seatmate, an older woman in a more traditional black dress, which had extensive frills sprouting from the end of its sleeves and skirt as well as the cowl-shaped neck line. 
 
 “ They telegraphed as soon as they arrived, but we haven ’ t heard from them ever since. ” She looked deeply concerned. “ I had Turnbull go to the station just last month to sent them news of your engagement. He assured me the clerk had told him, it would take not more than three weeks for a message to go there and back. ” 
 
 “ Were you concerned it would not arrive? ” The younger woman started twirling her shade giving sunbrella again. “ You can never know with what is going on in the news. ”, the lady in the black dress began her lecture. “ They admitted just recently, that they were unable to send and receive any telegrams past 700 miles from any station at this time. ” She folded her fan up and established a steady flow of cool air to her head. “ We should really get going, my dear. ” 
 
 They both stood up from the bench. The woman with the sunbrella had to adjust her corsage and hat after standing up. “ Reginald says, it ’ s a ploy of the telegraph companies to scare the people, so they can raise the prizes. He said, it was impossible for their network to overload in such a manner. I am inclined to believe him. ” “ Well, if he says so, he must know. What would we know about these things anyways. ” She chuckled softly, stopping the flow of air from her laquered fan for a moment. “ If I don ’ t see any steam coming out of it, I can not believe that it works. ” 
 
 “ Oh, Granny. ” The young woman smiled. “ Should we fetch a steam carriage instead of taking the tram then? ” The joke did not went unnoticed. “ Oh, no, my dear that won ’ t be prudent at this hour and traffic, I am afraid. ” She took a short pause, barely enough to process her previous sentence. “ It ’ s just that it gives one an odd comfort to smell what created the power that made your vehicle move right then and there. Most of the electricity comes from coal anyways. I fail to see the point of burning it in some backalley power plant instead of putting it to good use in a perfectly fine steam engine. ” 
 
 “ You should not mention it to Reginald, he would be in your ears for hours, explaining all the advantages of the city tram to you. ” The granny pursed her lips to a smile. “ I shall make sure to remember it on your wedding day, my dear. ” 
 
 They laughed whole-hearthedly before moving out of reach for Henderson to hear and he devoted himself to reading his paper again, whilst waiting for Nickels to arrive. The smoke from his pipe had grown thin while he had been listening to the Ladies ’ conversation, he noticed. He was not usually one to pry in others ’ matters. But today had been an unusual quiet day and it just so happened that he had followed their conversation involuntarily before he even knew about it. 
 
 Also, Nickels needed an unusual amount of time to get tools for the broken down steam carriage and soon Henderson had finished the economics section of the paper as well as the most interesting articles, according to their headlines. He was already in the section about culture and entertainment. Something, Mary would surely enjoy, if she wasn ’ t reading one of her novels, but proved to be too much of a dreadful read for his taste. The conversation between the women had made for a most excellent distraction. 
 
 “ Mr. Henderson. ” It was Nickels. “ Nickels? ” Henderson stopped happily his read of the most boring article about the inauguration of a department store, folded his paper and got up. “ Have you got the tools and spare parts? ” “ Yes, Sir. I apologize for the long wait, but it took a while to find a mechanic. ” 
 
 “ So? Did you try Ulster & Jones? I recall one of their shops being on our way here. ” “ Yes, I went there, but they had closed. ”, the middle-aged valet apologized. “ Closed? ” Henderson was mildly annoyed about this revelation. “ Where do we get when anyone decides to close their shop mid-day or it would be inconvenient to send telegraphs over long distances? I swear this country is getting more alike the colonies by the day! ” 
 
 “ Indeed, Sir. I apologize. ” Nickels ’ bowed his head slightly in shame. “ Oh, Nickels, don ’ t be ridiculous. You have hardly any fault in this. ”, Henderson tried to reassure his valet. “ I should have checked the carriage thoroughly before we departed, Sir. ” “ Nonsense! ” He put an end to the doubts of Nickels. “ The Manufacturer gave a five year guarantee and it has not been three years yet. ” Henderson thought ahead already. “ Maybe next time, it should not be a Dickinson carriage. I heard good word about the models of Osman and Co. They are said to be very reliable and comfortable. ” 
 
 “ Very well, Sir. I shall make inquiries about their models, when it is time. ” “ Thank you, Nickels. ” Henderson pulled out his golden watch out of its holster on his belts, that were laced around his chest. “ Would you look at the time. ” He sounded a bit startled. “ I better telegraph Mary ’ s sister that we are running late. ” “ I shall go at once, Sir. ” 
 
 “ That won ’ t be necessary, Nickels. I ’ d rather like to walk a few steps. If you would direct me towards the nearest station and keep an eye on the mechanic, while I am away? ” Nickels obliged. “ Very well, Sir. I saw a station just at the next intersection this way. ” He pointed, where he had come from. “ It ’ ll be just a minute, Nickels. And don ’ t worry. It could hardly get any worse than this. ” It was meant to calm his loyal valet down and reassure him. Then, Henderson went away without any haste, towards the telegraph station, which his valet had described to him.
