From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in Journalism — John Shaqi
From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in JournalismGaris, Howard Roger
General
From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in Journalism
Garis, Howard Roger
Journalists -- Juvenile fiction
“No, it is not,” said the city editor. “You are supposed to do what we
are all doing here, work for the interests of the paper, no matter in
what way. Larry did wrong if he let anyone else take any copy that was
intrusted to him. Never do it again, Larry. When you get copy put it in
the tube yourself. Then you will be sure it goes upstairs.”
“But he asked me for it,” said the new boy, feeling quite badly over
the matter.
“No matter if he did.”
“I didn’t do it. He’s just tryin’ to get out of it,” spoke Peter.
“We’ll soon see who’s to blame,” came from the city editor. “You boys
come with me.”
Secure in the sense that he was right, Larry followed. As for Peter
he would a good deal rather not have gone, only he dared not disobey.
Up to the composing room Mr. Emberg led the two boys. There he asked
the boy whose duty it was to take copy from the tubes whether he had
received any on yellow paper, for it was on sheets of that hue that the
missing story was written.
“No yellow copy came up this afternoon,” said the tube boy. “The last
batch I took out was a story about the new monument, and that was all.”
“That’s the copy you took, Peter, about the same time I sent the story
about Alderman Murphy up,” said Mr. Emberg.
“I don’t know nothin’ about no yellow copy,” said Peter sullenly.
“I’ll inquire in the copy room downstairs,” said the city editor. With
the boys following him, he went to the apartment where the pipe was
located, in which the copy was sent upstairs. It was the duty of one
boy to remain here all the while the paper was going to press to see
that the machinery was in order.
“Who sent up the last copy, Dudley?” asked Mr. Emberg.
“Peter Manton,” replied Dudley. “There was some other fellow that ran
in the last minute, but Peter took the copy from him and said he’d
send it up.”
“What kind of copy was it?” asked the city editor.
“On red--no--it was on yellow paper,” replied Dudley.
“And did you see Peter put it in the pipe?” asked Mr. Emberg.
“No, sir. I didn’t look at him closely. I had to turn on a little more
compressed air then, and I was too busy to take much notice.”
“Peter, you never sent that copy up!” exclaimed the city editor
suddenly, turning to the sulking office boy. “You are up to some trick.
Tell me what you did with it.”
“I didn’t----” began Peter.
But Mr. Emberg, with a quick motion, leaned forward and tore open
Peter’s coat. Out on the floor tumbled a number of yellow sheets of
paper. Mr. Emberg picked some of them up.
“There’s the missing copy,” he said. “Peter, you can go downstairs, get
what money is coming to you, and go. We don’t want you here any more.”
“All right,” growled Peter sullenly.
He turned to leave. As he passed Larry he muttered in a low turn:
“This is all your fault. Wait until I get a chance! I’ll pay you back
all right, all right!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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