four in the morning
Communication lines were broken , roads blocked , gas and electric supply systems paralyzed and the railroads helpless . Trains could not be driven through the glutinous , wriggling mass that piled high on the tracks . Only the radio and the air lines were operative in the stricken area , and even these were of little value to the unfortunates who , in many cases , were surrounded and cut off from all hope of succor . At four in the morning , with aching heart and reeling brain , Bart threw himself on the bed without undressing and fell into the troubled sleep of exhaustion and despair . * * * * * The next day brought no encouragement , though it was reported that the growth developed with less rapidity after sunrise than it had during the night . Bart endeavored to get Van on the telephone , but was curtly informed by the operator at the Research Building that no incoming calls could be transferred to the laboratory where he was working . Knowing his friend , he pictured him as working feverishly with the Government engineers and giving no thought to sleep or food .