Mr. Carps continued to push the green button, with increasing force. “Miss Trablipocris,” he called, “can you hear me?”

There was no answer.

“Here,” said Mr. Carps, suddenly addressing Nancy Elipse. “I’ll push the button, and you say ‘Miss Trablipocris’! I’ll count three, but I am beginning to worry that time might become a critical factor in this situation. And now—one, two, three!” He pushed the button firmly.

“Miss Trablipocris-sss?” shrieked Nancy. “Can you hear me?”

After a moment passed, Mr. Carps said “No response at all! That means either my unit or the intercom at Miss Trablipocris’s desk is defective, or Miss Trablipocris is so far away from her desk that she cannot hear us when we call.”

“Or maybe Miss Trablipocris can hear us but she doesn’t want to answer?” simpered Nancy.