The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1897-11-18
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!: IN QUEST OF 4 SCOOP.
A REPORTERS MIDNIGHT CHASE
AFTER BIG NEWS.
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Ir WAS 1880 o'clock one night last
week. The local room of the office
was shrouded in semidarkness. lit
up only by the sof, glow of the incan-
descent lights that shone family
through the green shades hanging over
each typewriter. In trout of each one
sat reporter in shirt-sleeves. some
without collars or cuffs. and all turn
ing out copy" as fast as their fingers
could fly over the keys of the machines.
"B-r-r-r. B-r-r-r." rings the bell in
the telephone booth. No answer.
"B-r-r-r. B-r-r-r-r." this time longer;
still no answer. "B-r-r-r. B-r-r-r-r;" it
does not stop until a young man rises
and with a remark not at all compli-
mentary to the person at the other end
of the line takes down the receiver.
Observation-Disclosures. what is it?"
Silence. Whats that? Where? What
boats? Jerusalem!" and without the
usual - by" he rushes into the city
editors room.
'Westcott's man just called up. He
wants to know if we've heard anything
about a collision at Smiths coal dock.
Says he was towing by there when he
heard two big fellows come together
with crash and there was lots of
screaming. Fog was too thick to see
anything"
The city editor looked up. half buried
in copy. Call up the dock and ask
them
He says they have nothing to say,
and won't tell even the names of the
would be willing to tell something"
he reported a minute later.
Then ask the drydock if they have
heard"
They don't know anything about it
yet" he said, when he had called them
up.
How far is it down thcre?
"It's pretty nearly seven miles. l
guess"
''Well. call up IS livery stable and
ask them if they can send us a fast
horse to 30 down there and back by
three o'clock. Do you think you can
find the way in the dark? If not. get
somebody to 60 with you. / know it's
past the Rouge, but that's all. You will
have to find telephone and Gull us
up on it. or it will be too late for the
city edition. I don't suppose that fel-
low at the dock will let you use the
phone and you will probably have
some fun waking people up at that
time of night. If you think it's a scoop
we will throw it up" Which in news
paper parlance meant that if the other
papers did not get it the account would
be given the most prominent place in
the paper.
Ten minutes later the reporter and
a friend who said he knew the way were
going rapidly out Fort street on their
cold ride to the coal dock. "By George"
muttered the newspaper man. ''if this
fog doesn't clear away ! see our finish
in one of those Ecorse marshes. wish
had worn my overcoat; I'm being
slowly frozen to death. Say! | won
der how the c. L. expects me to find
anything such night as this? This
internal fog is getting so thick that
if we want 10 change our positions we
will have to cut piece out with our
knives, Keep watch or we'll run
down the fort
a hail from lonely sentinel at the
fort told them when they passed it;
otherwise they could not have told
whether they were near or far from its
frowning walls. Once Il breath of wind
for moment lifted the thick veil OF
fog, and they saw. not three feet away.
the waters of the Rouge river floating
silently and swiftly toward the larger
stream farther on. The horse had
strayed from the road. and another step
or TWO would have taken them into the
black waters. With "a muttered adjur-
alton the reporter climbed out of the
buggy and led the horse back TO the
road. wish had thought to put in a
life preserver. It's half past one. and
we have probably three miles to go yet"
he said, as he lighted match and
looked at his watch.
Their horse stumbled on something
end investigation showed that they had
crossed the railroad track. Finally he
trotted on some planks. and they were
on the Rouge river bridge.
I'VE might just as well stop unless we
can find somebody who knows the road
perfectly" the newspaper man said. "if
we try TO 60 through that swamp the
pepper will have an extra death notice
tomorrow, and ! haven't always been
Rood" h addo6 Rrimlv.