“I might not be here now, Mr. Johnson,” he said, “if it had not been for my old friend Johnnie Lee. It was his bonfire that saved me. Without it I should almost certainly have crashed. I owe my life to him and the _Press_ owes its pictures and its story to him. He wants to be a reporter, Mr. Johnson. Can’t you help him? Haven’t you a job for him?” “Has he done any reporting, Jimmy? Has he had any experience?” “No, sir. But he is clever enough. He could learn quickly, if you would give him a chance. And I have no doubt he would be glad to work for very little pay or maybe none at all until he learned how to do the work. Can’t you take him on, Mr. Johnson?” “I’m sorry, Jimmy, I’ll gladly send him a check for his help to-night. We are always willing to pay anybody who helps us get news. But we have no use for green reporters here. We need trained men. We seldom hire cubs any more. We want men with experience.” “But you took me on,” protested Jimmy, “and I was perfectly green.” “You came on as a flier, Jimmy. And you would be the last man in the world to say you were green at that job.” “But I learned how to get news. So could Johnnie.” “Yes, you did, Jimmy. You picked up the knack readily. And if you continue to improve, you’ll make a great reporter some day. But you evidently had it in you.” “Maybe Johnnie does, too.” “I’m sorry, Jimmy. We can’t possibly take him on. But if he got some experience—if he showed us that he knew how to handle a story—I might give him a chance. I feel very much indebted to him. It was a great thing for you to get through with that story, even if you were delayed.” Jimmy looked alarmed. “The story will make the edition, won’t it?” he asked. “Absolutely. And we’ll scoop every other paper in town on pictures. The only other pictures in the city were sent by wire, and they aren’t half as good as actual photographs. What’s more, we’ll have one feature that no other paper in the country will have. That is the story of how the _Morning Press’_ flying reporter dared a fog that stopped even the Air Mail, and got through. The story is already in type, Jimmy.” CHAPTER VIII Jimmy Saves a Boyhood Friend