“This morning, according to this dispatch,” Mr. Brown continued, “four of the prisoners broke away from their guards while a slow freight train was passing under the bridges, dropped from one of the bridges to the tender, drove the engineer and fireman off with revolvers, uncoupled the engine, and escaped. It is an exceedingly dramatic story and must be told fully. You must take the first train for Sing Sing and get all the facts. See the warden, go over to the quarries, look at the bridge and the position of the train, get the names and histories of the escaped convicts, and of course be on the lookout for their capture. Tell the story vividly, but do not exaggerate the facts. Now the sooner you reach Sing Sing the better.” To go into the great Sing Sing prison, to talk with the warden, to go over the prison grounds, and to come back and describe one of the most remarkable prison escapes ever made! Dick could hardly believe that such a job had been put into his hands. He knew that that day’s work would give him a standing in the office if he did it well, and he hurried down the stairs determined to put his whole heart and brain into it. As he reached the head of the long flight leading into the publication office he saw that a man below was about to come up. The man had stopped for a moment to talk with one of the clerks, and his hand rested on the top of the newel post. It was Jack Randall, the man who should have had this great Sing Sing story to write! He had returned unexpectedly, and in a minute more the city editor would see him. Dick’s thoughts flew fast for a moment. If he went on down the stairs, he would immediately be swallowed up in the crowded streets and it would be too late to recall him. But would that be fair? The work must certainly have been given to Randall, if he had been in the office; it had gone to Dick only through a misunderstanding. His mind was made up in an instant, and he turned and ran quickly up the stairs. “Mr. Randall is downstairs, sir,” he said to the city editor; “he will be up here in a moment.” It was like giving away half his chances in life, but he was sure it was the right thing to do. Mr. Brown looked up squarely into Dick’s eyes as he answered. “It was very thoughtful in you to come and tell me, Mr. Sumner,” he said, “but I shall not change the assignment. You go ahead and do the work.” Dick was off like a flash for the Grand Central Station, exchanging salutations with Randall when he encountered him on the stairs. “How much better I can do the work now,” he thought, “than if I had gone ahead with a guilty conscience!”