The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-03-03

decision he simply said:
I'm sorry Mr.. Brown doesn't feel
inclined to give me a show as reporter,
though I am much obliged to him for
the raised pay. That will please
mother, anyhow. WANTED to surprise
her with the news that I had got up an
other round on the ladder, but 1 a
wait. Ny chance will come some
time"
And Jack pitched into the work
again a cheerfully and as willingly as
ever.
Six busy months passed by. Jack
had not been absent from his post an
hour in that time, SO one night, when
be asked if he might remain away the
following day, Ijokingly said:
This is something very unusual,
Jack. l am almost as much astonished
as if one of the presses had asked for
leave Of absence. What do you ex-
pect to do with yourself for a whole
day away from the Officer
Il thought of taking a trip Il Chi
cago, he answered. There's a cheap
excursion train going to run there to
morrow, and, as I've never been there,
l thought it would be a good chance
to go and see the place"
Not going to look for a job on some
other paper and leave US, are you7' in
quired l, still jokingly.
NO; l reckon I'll stick to the Globe
as long as the Globe sticks to me-"
"All right: go ahead then, and I'll
expect you here at the usual hour
Thursday"
Ill be here on time; you can de
pend on that-unleas the train gets
wrecked!' said Jack as he left the Of
flee.
Those last words of Jacks sounded
almost like a prophecy, in the light of
future events.
The nextday came and passed. The
usual hour for going to the press
midnight-had arrived, and the fore
man of the composing room was busy
making up the forms, when boy came
running in from the telegraph Cffite
across the street with a dispatch for
the Daily Globe. l tore it open and
saw it was from Jack. 1t was dated
at a small railroad station, only
dozen miles away, and ran as follows:
Save space in paper and send
special engine with reporters and doc
tors. Excursion train wrecked. Sew
eral people killed and many injured.
Leg broken or l would get full report
myself and bring it on. Send word to
mother, so she wont worry. Tell her
its only a scratch and I'll be all right
again soon. Jack Jones'"
The Globe staff did some tall huetl
ing during the next two hours. When
we reached the scene Of disaster we
learned that Jack, though suffering
from a compound fracture of the leg,
had managed to c~xtricate himself from
the wrecked train, parGly hobble and
partly crawl to the station, several
rods away, where he wrote out his
message, handed it to the operator
with the request to hurry it off, and
then tainted from pain.
We saw that he was made as com
Portable rs possible first, then did what
we could to assist others, gathering
names and details as we went along,
and the next morning the Globe puo
liehed a full account of the accident,
scoring a beat on the Blizzard and the
other morning papers. About half
way down the list of injured, the
names being published in regular al
phabotical order, appeared the follow
ing:
John ". Jones, reporter for the
Daily Glob , compound fracture of
right leg; will recover"
Two days later when I dropped in at
his mothers, where the plucky boy
had been taken by my orders on the
night of the accident, to see how he
was getting along aud to hand him his
weekly salary. he counted the money
over in a puzzled s rt Of way, and then
said:
You've made a mistake, haven't
YOU? There is len dolla s too much"
Guess not" said I, nonchalantly;
didn't you see your name in our list
as reporter2'
Jacks face flushed as he replied:
Yes, but of purse that was an er-
ror."
mot a bit of it my boy" said /, II