Air pilots -- Juvenile fiction; Mystery and detective stories; Reporters and reporting -- Juvenile fiction
“Find out what happened, when it happened, where it happened, how it
happened, why it happened, and to whom it happened. Get every detail you
can about every phase of the story. Get the names of the dead and
injured, if possible. Find out how many are still in the mine. Maybe Mr.
Healy can tell you. Get a story of the explosion from him. Find out how
it happened and what caused it. Get Mr. Healy to tell you about the mine
itself—what it is like, whether there is any chance for rescue, whether
there are places where the imprisoned men can take refuge in the mine.
Ask all the questions you can think of. Try to get enough stuff together
so you can tell me a complete story of the disaster when I get there.”
“I’ll do it, Jimmy. I’m off this minute. Good-bye.”
Jimmy said good-bye and rang off. “That was a lucky thought,” he
muttered, “to set Johnnie to work. He’s evidently got the inside track.
He may be able to get the whole story.”
Jimmy ascertained the amount of his tolls and paid the woman. She had
heard his talk with Johnnie and was intensely interested. She asked
Jimmy question after question about his work as a flying reporter.
Before Jimmy knew it, half an hour had passed. Then he noticed a clock
and frowned. He looked out at his plane. Some small boys had gathered
about it, but there was no sign of Handley. Fifteen minutes more passed,
and Jimmy was growing desperate. Finally he reached for the telephone
again. “Please get me the New York _Morning Press_” he told the
operator.
When Jimmy finally got his connection, he called for Mr. Johnson. “Have
you any idea how long it is going to take Handley to reach me here at
Easton?” he asked. “I’ve waited for him more than an hour already. I’ve
got to push on if I am to get any photographs.”
“What’s this about Handley and Easton and waiting an hour? What are you
talking about?” demanded the managing editor.
“What am I talking about!” exclaimed Jimmy. “I am talking about Handley.
You ordered me to wait for him in Easton. I’ve been here at Easton for
more than an hour. Can you give me any idea how soon he will arrive? I
can’t possibly wait much longer if I am to get back with the story in
time for the midnight edition.”
“You’re in Easton! Waiting for Handley! What are you talking about? I
never ordered you to stop at Easton. You ought to be in Shenandoah this
very minute.”
“You never ordered me to stop at Easton!” cried Jimmy. “Somebody did. I
received a radio message forty minutes after I took off, telling me you
had ordered Handley to join me here and ordering me to wait for him. I
acknowledged the message and supposed you had my acknowledgment.”
“Somebody has put one over on you, Jimmy,” said the managing editor.
“It’s a pretty bad business. But we have no time to discuss it now. Get
on to Shenandoah as fast as you can and do the best you can. I want to
see you about this as soon as you get back here. Now hustle.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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