"You mean you will not?" "Well, you can put it that way," replied Larry. "I'll make you!" and the politician arose from his chair and stood threateningly over the young reporter. For a moment Larry's heart beat rapidly in fear. Then he remembered what Mr. Emberg had said: "Don't let him bluff you." He was sure Sullivan was bluffing. "Are you going to tell?" asked Sullivan again. "I am not." Sullivan banged his fist down on his desk. He shoved his hat on the back of his head. Thrusting his face close to Larry's he exclaimed: "Then I'll put you out of business! I'll make the city too hot to hold you! I'll have you fired from the _Leader_, and no other paper in New York will hire you! I'll show you what it is to have Jack Sullivan down on you! I was going to play fair with you. But you sneaked in here and got information I wasn't ready to give out. Now you can take the consequences!" "I didn't sneak in here!" cried Larry. "I came openly. What's more, you can't scare me! I'm not afraid of you! I know what I did was all right! Perhaps the _Leader_ knows more than you think. I'm not going to tell where I got my information, and you can do as you please!" Sullivan had cooled down. He was a bit ashamed of having given way to his anger, for usually he kept his temper. "All right," he said. "It's war between us now. Tell your city editor he needn't send you to get any more news from me, and when the _Leader_ wants any favors from Jack Sullivan it can whistle for 'em. I'm done with that sheet. I'll show 'em who Sullivan is!" Larry turned and went out. It was the first time he had been browbeaten like this, but he kept his nerve. If he had only known it, Sullivan was not the first politician to threaten to annihilate a paper, nor was it Sullivan's initial attempt to scare reporters into doing what he wanted. As Larry left the headquarters he met Peter Manton going in. "Making up another fake interview with Sullivan?" asked Peter, with a sneer. "You've made a nice mess of it!" "I didn't make any worse one than you did with that wreck story," retorted Larry, who could not forego this thrust at his old enemy. "I'll get even with you yet," exclaimed the rival reporter, as he scowled at Larry, and entered Sullivan's private room. "I wonder what Sullivan will do about it?" thought Larry, as he went back to the office. CHAPTER XI A MISSING MILLIONAIRE Contrary to Larry's expectations Mr. Emberg was not at all impressed by Sullivan's threats.