"Hello, Mr. Freeland. This is Minturn talking--James Minturn. You will remember some securities I deposited with you not long ago? I wish to use a part of them to pay a debt I owe Mr. Winton. Kindly credit his account with--oh, he's there in the bank? Well never mind then. I didn't know he was back yet. Let it go! I'll see him in person. And you might tell him that his daughter is at my office. Yes, thank you. No you needn't say anything about that to him; we'll arrange it ourselves. Good-bye!" "Now where am I at?" demanded Mickey. "I don't think you know, Mickey," said Mr. Minturn, "and I am sure I don't, but I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Winton will be here in a few minutes, and if his mission has been successful, his face will tell it; and if he's in trouble, that will show; and then we will know what to do. Mr. Bruce would like to know he is here, and at the bank I think." "I'll go tell him right away," said Mickey. Douglas was walking the floor as Mickey entered. "You delivered the letter?" he cried. Mickey shook his head, producing the envelope. "You didn't!" shouted Bruce. "You didn't! Thank God! Oh, thank God you _didn't!_" "Aw-w-ah!" protested Mickey. "Why didn't you?" demanded Douglas. "Well you see," said Mickey, "me and Mr. Chaffner of the _Herald_ were talking a while ago about some poetry I'm going to write for his first page, soon now--I've always sold his papers you know, so I sort of belong--and I happened to tell him I was working for you, and how fine you were, and about your being engaged to Miss Leslie, and he seemed to kind of think you was heading for trouble; he just plain _said so_. I was so scared I begged him not to let _that_ happen. I told him how everything was, and finally I got him to promise that if you _did_ get into trouble he'd help you, at least he _almost_ promised. You see he's been a newspaper man so long, he eats it, and sleeps it, and he had a s'scoop'--" "'He had a scoop?'" repeated Douglas. "Yes! A great one! Biggest one in ten years!" said the boy. "He loved it so, that me trying to pry him loose from it was about like working to move the Iriquois Building with a handspike. All he'd promise that first trip was that if I'd come and tell him when I saw you'd got into trouble, he'd _see_ what he could do." "Wanted to pump you for material for his scoop, I suppose?" commented Douglas.