John Fenton had once called Mr. Robinson, of the _Trumpet_, an argus-eyed editor. But Fenton did not fully realize how searching and far-reaching was his superior’s gaze. The managing editor of a New York newspaper is seldom appreciated at his true worth by his subordinates. They are too closely in touch with the methods by which he produces his effects to grant him that admiration that the readers of his newspaper feel for him. It is enough if the navigator of a journalistic craft obtains the respect and loyalty of his crew. He must not expect to be the object of hero-worship in the forecastle. It depends upon which end of the telescope you place before your eye, the impression that the moon makes on your mind. The public looks at a famous editor through the large end of the instrument, while his subordinates view him through the small end. Rare and precious is the newspaper potentate who can stand both tests. Editor Robinson of the _Trumpet_ was not a great man,--a creature that the end of the century seems disinclined to produce in any line of human endeavor,--but he possessed ripe experience, a wide range of vision, and a keen appreciation of the merits and demerits of the material at his disposal. In judging the availability of a piece of news or the advisability of a certain line of editorial policy his mind worked with great rapidity and acuteness. When it came to rendering a final verdict regarding any man with whom he came in contact he was hesitating and conservative. He had learned by experience that it is dangerous to admire Dr. Jekyll too much until you have proved conclusively that he is not a Mr. Hyde. There were two men in the office who had, of late, been under Mr. Robinson’s close inspection. He was making a thorough study of John Fenton and Richard Stoughton for a cherished purpose that he had long had at heart. Many circumstances had combined to lead him to the conclusion that slowly but surely these two men had rendered themselves eligible for a post that neither of them had ever dreamed of filling.