It was a two-word message; "Karal remains."

Within a month the two-word message began appearing on T-shirts and billboards and at the steps of the Federal courthouse in demonstrations.

Then she spoke a simple, two-word message: "Arrived.

When the notice came, "judgment reversed," Mr. McSwain sent out a two-word e-mail message to his client and colleagues, "We Won."

A broker friend of mine who specializes in trading Internet stocks called me the other day and left a two-word message on my answering machine: "Panic buying."

Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana has a two-word message for the President: "Send money!"

It was a runner from Fela, delivering a two-word message: "Come - urgent."

A dozen readers shot in that two-word message: go know.

But at 10:34 a.m., minutes after the north tower collapsed, Mr. Farley stopped running long enough to send a two-word message to his wife: "I'm ok."

I got back a two-word coded message.