He presented himself before both of them, not knowing what to say. Apparently it was not necessary to say anything. Both of them were busy—too busy, Felix hoped, for them to notice how dazed he was. “All right, Fay, you’ll be here Monday morning at eight o’clock,” said the city editor. “I suppose Mr. Bangs told you that we’re going to start you off at twenty dollars?” said Mr. Devoe. “We can do a little better later, perhaps. It’s up to you.” Mr. Devoe looked at him severely—or kindly, Felix was not sure which—over his glasses, and turned back to his desk. “Yes, sir,” said Felix. Willie Smith patted him on the back. “Glad you’ve got it,” he said. “Take it easy,” Clive told him. “A newspaper job in Chicago is just like a newspaper job anywhere else.” Well! So at last, somehow, the devil only knew how, he had gained a foothold in Chicago. He discussed the event with Rose-Ann that evening. She laughed at his surprise. “How do you suppose people get jobs?” she demanded. “You were going at it in precisely the right way. I knew from what you told me they were going to take you.” Felix had already begun to worry about the future. “I don’t know where any place is,” he said. “I must dig up my street-map.” “Oh, throw that street-map away,” said Rose-Ann. “I’ll give you a guide to Chicago that’s much more useful.” She went to her shelf and took down a little book. “Here!” It was the “Bab Ballads.” Felix looked puzzled. “If you can write a play that will please children, you can write to please the people of Chicago. They’re children, too,” she said. Felix slipped the book in his pocket and went to his room and his street-map. She had too much confidence in him. Only he himself knew what a fool he was. He had got this job under false pretences. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VI. A Guide to Chicago 1 AND yet it seemed that Rose-Ann knew him better than he knew himself. On Monday morning the city editor gruffly assigned him a desk. He hated to sit there idle, and he had thrown away his morning paper. Finding that he still had Rose-Ann’s little book in his pocket, he took it out and read in that. Presently the city editor called his name. He rose, putting the book back into his pocket. His first test had come. “Go over to the Annex and see if you can get something about the Taft-Roosevelt situation from—” and he named a distinguished political personage. “Where?” Felix asked. “At the Annex.”