Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-10-30
A SENSATION.

1890 ~~ey PAAVsAoS OLCO WIlCu
you are at liberty, MIR. Bennett"
The request was made in terse.
authoritative tones, familiar enough
to every man in the editorial depart.
ment OF the paper as those of Mr..
Priest, the managing editor-an un.
dersized. fussy little chap. with hair
prematurely gray. thin. sharp eyes,
like ferrits, and enormous ears that
seemed designed by nature to catch
all the news there was adrift. The
latter organs he had peculiar fash
ion OF moving backward and forward
when excited or interrested-a mulish
mannerism which had earned hi m
various more or less appropriate
nicknames.
Eyes, SIR" answered Bennett,
looking up from the preparation of
an article on the superlative great
ness, past. present. and future, of
Kansas City. "Be there in five min.
'utes," he added, and then soto voice
-''wonder what the deuce is up now.
Some idiots been complaining about
a report, OF course" With this re.
Election the young man resumed his
laudatory screed on the advantages
OF Kansas City commercially, socially,
and generally. At last the column of
fiction upon which he had expended
a good deal of energy was handed
over to the city editor with the re-
mark: "Here's that rot about the
town." An instant later Bennett
had disappeared down the passage to
confer with his chief.
"WCnder what Priest wants with
him." said Godfrey, one of the stars
of the staff, who had acquired local
fame by virtue Of a series of "beats''
during his four months Of service
with the paper.
'Maybe going to do tardy just
ice, and raise his salary" said
ODell. the court man, cynically
"Bennett's been doing all the fancy
work since poor Durand quit, and he
ought to get Durand's salary but
he doesn't"
'Did you see Priests ears?" asked
little Davis, the junior member of
the staff. ''They stood straight out. "
went on the youngster, 'and there's
something IN Jne air sure.
At this moment a messenger en-
tered to inform Godfrey that he, too,
was wanted in the managerial sane
tum, whereat the garrulous little
Davis at once urged the correctness OF
his surmise, that an unusual 'some-
thing" was Transporting behind the
figured glass Of the editorial room.
''Sit down, Bennett" snapped the
editor as the former entered. Priest
was type. One Of a class of men
who seem to ind their way into po-
sitions of affluence and authority on
newspapers without difficulty. He
was not a writer. and, in fact, could
hardly construct sentence correctly.
He lacked most Of the elements nat
urally supposed indispensable to sue
cess in such a place, but Priest had
other qualifications added TO a good
nose for news, which appealed more
strongly to the stockholders OF the
paper. Chief among them was ability
to play into the hands of the business
office, hold down writer's salaries to
the minimum, and curtail the eX.
penses Of his department generally.
There were literary brains enough to
he got for very little money, clever
writer's on any and all topics of the
day, but men OF the Priest pattern
were scarcer
The air of the managing editor, as
he motiOned Bennett to a seat, was
preoccupled. He was always preoc'
cupied when spoken to or approached
by any but the business manager.
Then he was obsequious His man.
ner now said, as plainly as words
could have said it: "YOu are my sub.
ordinate, and must be duly impressed
with the dignity OF my position.
After gazing for some moments
in an attitude of deep thought,
at a social item OF utter unimpOr.
lance, which had slipped in among
his correspondence Ivy mistake, Mr..
Priest dropped the little slip Of paper
into his capacious waste-basket,
swung round in his swing chair, and
faced Jack Bennett.
'Mr. Bennett" he jerked, PPM
going detail you on an important
piece of work."
eyes, SIR" replied Bennett with a
becoming show OF interest.
You know. Mr.. Bennett" contin.
ued the chief, .'all the main facts re.
gardiny the c unterfeit IS bills which
have flooded the city during the last
few months?"
II believe l am tolerably familiar
with the matter" was the reply.
THE fact is, Bennett" and the
little mans ears began to oscillate
with increasing rapidity-'the fact
is, that every detective in the city
has worked on this case for weeks at
a time. They have all failed, and
the search has been practically aban'
doned. The police acknowledge them.
selves beaten. Bennett" The editor
brought his hand down on the arm oil