The National tribune., 1901-04-11

fully say he knew any more about the af-
fair than all the rest. No one, that is,
except Slocum. the night-clerk at The
Grand. He set the ball rolling.
1t was one of the Iight-clerk's duties
to make UP short notices to send to any
newspaper which might give the hotel the
free advertising in exchange for the news
thus received. Usually it was nothing
more than a notice of the arrival and de-
parture from The Grand of some person
registering from the town or city in which
the journal getting the paragraph was
published. The tact Slocum showed in this
matter was one thing that made his ser
vices valuable to the lessee of The Grand
The young man was 4 journalist by IN
stinct No sooner had Gilbert Sears dls-
appeared into that early morning black
ness than SlOcum had made himself an
other pot of strong coffee and set tn work
OH Il thrilling description of the tornado
and the romantic escape of the young cou-
pie who had taken refuge with him. Prof-
iting by Il huckStcrs wagon TO send ms
budget to Mayvillc for the o'clock train
to the city, he made Il scoop without
using the wires, and conveyed to the later
morning editions in Buffalo. the afternoon
papers in Pittsburg, Rochester and Cleve-
land. and the next mornings publications.
all over the country. whatever he knew
about the attractive people who had ar
ter midnight taken the best and most eS-
pensive room at The Grand, Point Chau-
tauqua, etc. This dispatched, he hunted
up newspaper directory he had per-
suaded his "boss" to buy for him, and
dropped a paragraph to the Summerdale
Reaper detailing the hair-breadth escape
of the popular young married people, MI
and Mrs w. Gilbert Sears, on the little
western New York lake, adding that only
Mr.. Sears's remarkable skill as a water
man saved Summerdale from being clothed
in double mourning, etc. In less than "a
hours Slocum was startled by telegram
from the enterprising editor of the Reap
err, ordering him to wire everything
about Sears, Keeps, Ashbels, etc, and
send particulars by mail" When copy
of the Reaper reached him a little later
Slocum realized that the opportunity OF
his life had come.
BY this time the real facts of the affair
scandal, some said-had begun TO leak
out. Slocum understood that the other
reporters were ''onto it." They knew
there had been family quarrels, they had
caught echoes of Mrs. Keeps angry
words, and had dogced her footsteps az
she climbed the long, hot hill at May
vile, and had lurkcd under the windows
of Judge Vandevere's office when she die
tated a new will. In fact, they knew. as
much as Slocum himself did. But they
did not have his audience, the brabble-fed,
faction-torn Summerdale audience. For
weeks his letter every other day was the
most important feature of the Reapers
columns. The paper made small for
tune out of it, and the night-cierk q fame
that waited him to the staff of a great
daily. Long before that time
came however, Summerdale learned that
Mrs Keep had made the Hon. James
Bettson her executor and residuary lega-
tee and shook its batte-scarred sides with
laughter as it debated whether the brabble
would continue its CORY career when its
interests should be both united in the
smiling person of the lawyer, or whether
he would rent both the twin houses and
combine the Greenlee Mills and Hubert
Factories in single corporation.
ITO he GnniinnpdA