The Harmonica Bug

Harrassment time must be over. I was able to correct and publish with no problems.
 
This brings us to the question of when this stalking began. I suspect it began in the late '60s. I don't know. What I do know is that by the late '70s my telephone began acting oddly. It would ring one ring then stop. If the phone was 'answered' only a dial tone would be heard. This went on for several years. At first I thought it was somebody's idea of a joke. But as time went on I formed the idea that it was a bizarre form of harrassment. Some years later I read that this telephone behavior indicated the presence of a 'harmonica bug.' Another name for this bug was 'infinity transmitter.' The bug was designed to react only to a certain tone on the line.
 
The 'bug' had to be physically installed inside a telephone. Once it was installed, the 'bugger' could dial the target number and blow into a modified harmonica as he dialed the last number. The bug would detect the tone and open the line (answer the phone). The phone would stay 'answered' even though it was still on the hook. The bugger could then hear any conversation taking place in the target room - most of the time. But one out of five times the bug would 'connect' during the ring cycle and the phone would ring. In that case the bugger would have to hang up and try again. The result of that was (another attempt to change fonts) that the phone would ring once. In retrospect it is clear that back in the late '70s we were being 'bugged.' We eventually got in the habit of unplugging that telephone, presumably foiling the bugger.
 
We acquired newer phones in the '80s, and also moved to our current location, and the odd phone behavior disappeared. But a new and different behavior then began to manifest itself: the hangup call.