The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-09-09


inoffensive Swede without an enemy
In the world. The watchman's keys,
money and watch were left upon his
person, which left the motive to be ex-
planned.
For once in his life Gilroy was in
doubt. 1t was to overthrow all the
newspaper saints from their inches to
1t might be fake pure and simple,
or it might be the greatest scoop which
the Blazer ever printed. All this time
the man was keeping up his plaintive
pleading for "A v, sir; only V, and
it's the chance of lifetime. sir"
Its just gamble, but here goes"
muttered Gilroy as he carved the copy
the foreman:
snake hole for this stuff-kill any
thing everything-it' got to gop' Then
turning to the stranger:
Here's your V. If this is wrong,
I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth
and shoot you on sight" and Gilroy
spoke as if he would do it.
With a feverish clutch the man
reached for the banknote and melted
into the gloom of the outer Office.
With the first grumble of the big
presses came a spiteful ring of the tele-
phone 1t was Somerby, the cub re-
porter, who was an independent scout,
as he chose to call himself, a man
looking for chance to distinguish
himself
Somerby said, "Police have Just
found body of murdered man in the
ashpit alley
''Thank God" fervently calculated
Gilroy
''Eh! What's that you sayT
Got it-buy a paper and go home
and read it-get some sleep and see If
you can't get some news"
And Somerby hung up the receiver in
a hotel half mile away and brushed
away something like tear Of disap-
pointment, for his chance to distin-
guish himself had not yet come.
1t was the scoop of the town.
The Blazer with its vociferous head
lines leered at the sergeant before his
men had come in. wandering night
hawk had found the body. and a de-
tail had gone for it. He rang up the
Blazer office to know about it, but a
newspaper Office after the last form is
down is like the echoing tomb. He
sent plain clothes man around to see
about it. Gilroy had gone. Where
was he? .Roomed uptown some
where" Two hours later the night ed
itor was pulled from his bed to ex-
plain. Space writer brought it in.
Don't know him. Never saw him be-
fore. Story was all right, wasn't it?
well. what in the blankity- blank
blank are you up here pulling me out
Of bed for?" And that was all they
could get out of Gilroy.
1t was on a morning nearly two
months after the big scoop.
The Blazer promised to be frosty
again. Gilroy was muttering, "Wish
that scoop fiend would show up again
with something as hot as that last
screed of his"
AS If in answer to his wish, the mys-
FERROUS individual glided In, more wan,
more seedy and more wild eyed than
before. He had another good scoop,
"For v, sir; only a w
This time it was a yachting accident
which had happened at a nearby sum-
mer resort Ten people were drowned,
all well known. 1t was terrible ca
tastrophe, with news in every line.
Gilroy fairly danced when he saw it.
He pulled out the V and another dol
lar with it. He walked home ON air
that morning, singing praises of the
scoop fiend and his own good judg-
ment.
When he awoke from peaceful slum-
bers and languidly reached for the
noon edition of a rival sheet which
had flown in over the transom, to his
establishment, dismay and almost nau-
sea he read an array of biting sarcasm
to the effect that the yachting accident
story published In a morning paper"
was fearful, cold blooded fake; not
line of truth in it. The people alleged
to have been drowned were all alive
and well. The yacht which was said
to have gone down with all on board
was not even In commission.
Gilroy wrestled with his emotions
for some time before he had the cour-
age to go out and look the world in the
face.
About a month afterward Gilroy
found upon his desk manuscript from
the scoop fend." Upon the outside
was scrubbed: This is all right Yours
without the v"
Gilroy read the story. 1t was an ac-
count of suicide. of the rash deed of
an unknown man who had jumped