Middletown transcript., 1902-09-20
Patsy Mullisan The Cub
.aa.aaoooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
BY SAMUEL ]. STEINBERG.

marched into the Office with the result OF
his labors and displayed it to Mr.. An
drews. The glow on his face, which
made each freckle stand out more con-
spicuously than ever, when he returned,
indicated the intense satisfaction of hav-
ing met with warm praise, which was
further proven by his exclamation:
"Say, de boss is peaclrl''
Patsy had an intense admiration for a
number Of the compositors, and sincere
regard for the foreman, who was so easy
on his men; but for Mr.. Andrews his
feelings were of deep devotional nature.
There was bond of affinity between the
portly and prosperous publisher and the
unkempt and uncouth Irish Cub" The
smile with which they greeted each other
"a smile that brought them both to a
common level-was really the signal OF
recognition of the brotherhood to which
they both belonged: the Brotherhood of
Optimists, who see joy in their daily
work, humor even in their misfortunes,
and happines in everything. Mr.. An
drews understood Patsy, and Patsy un-
derstood Mr.. Andrews, although beyond
few good-natured words that daily
passed between them, one was still the
employer and the other the employee.
Patsy's work, as far as proving galleys
and running errands was considered, was
most satisfactory to all concerned. and
his desire to please SO genuine that he
could not be aught else but popular. The
errands upon which he was sent by the
firm made it possible for him to execute
little commissions for the employees,
which he did willingly.
Patsy's work of keeping the galleys
proved up for the busy compositors was
ordinarily no light task, but the rapidity
with which he did the work make it an
easy one. After the work of proving
galleys had lost its novelty, Patsy, being
only human, found it irksome. He did
not mind SO much the individual galleys
the compositors filled, as this meant only
few moments away from his efforts to
learn to set type; but when an order
would come in to prove up all the galleys
OF certain book, which might consist in
number of anywhere from ten to fifty, he
would feel aggrieved.
1t was this kind of an order that had
upset his usual placid temper after he
had been there some time; and the only
reason he had not grumbled was because
the order had come from Mr.. Andrews
himself.
1t was forty galleya Of medical book
which had already passed through Patsy's
hands. But both proofs and copy had
been miscarried in the mails and could
not be traced Mr.. Andrews had con-
cluded his instructions with the request
to have them all finished by three o'clock.
"Don't fail me, Patsy" he had said
kindly. II must have it at that time in
order to catch the mails. If disappoint
them this time l may get no more of
their books to print. Three O'Clock,
remember"
Patsy went quickly to work at the task.
The noon hour came and at one o'clock
Patsy resumed his labors, casting an i'm
pItient glance at his stick and case in the
corner.
Tnirty-four Of the galleys had been
proved, and Patsy became cheerful as he
realized that only six remained. Then
his work suffered momentary Interrupt
ton from the clang, clang of the gong Of
a fire engine coming down the street.
Patsy's ears pricked up, but unfortu-
nately the windows OF the composing
room did not face the street, and he
could not conceive Of any excuse for
going into the Office.
One OF the printers, whose window was
open, shifted the air. "The fire is close
byp' he exclaimed. There was distinct
odor of smoke in the air.
Suddenly the door of the rarely used
stairway was burst open with a rush,
Mr.. Andrews appearing in state Of con-
siderable excitement.
"Here," he shouted to the men, ''get
out! Do you want to get burned up?
The whole lower floor is in blaze.
Hurry! Take the stairway; it's to late
for the elevator"
There was an immediate skurry for
hats and coats. Mr.. Andrews ran into
the Office where, with the assistance of
the bookkeeper, he piled books, proofs,
and untouched copy in the big iron safe.
A hasty look around the bookkeeper
made for the stairway with great speed.
Mr.. Andrews stopped long enough to un-
lock his desk and take therefrom the
paper weight containing the picture Of
his two little girls, which he thrust into
his pocket As he reached the head of
the stairs the air was already becoming
thick and difficult to breath because Of
the smoke. He met the foreman just
going down.
CAN out?' he asked, taking last re-
gretful look at the racks and stands of
type, and the huge presses and other ma
chinery in the distance.
"All out?" answered the foreman.
They both reached the street in safety
and turned to watch the certain destruc-
ton of the building.
But all were not out. On the an
nouncement of the fire Patsy had been
the first to run for his coat, but as he
started for the stairs he happened to
think Of the proofs. Mr.. Andrews SER
ious injunction to have them ready at
three o'clock. and Of the possible loss of
future work if he failed, came back to
him with full force. But above all Patsy
understood how important the complete.
set Of proofs would be if the type was
destroyed, since the original copy was
lost.
He had five galleys yet to prove. He
determined to stay and finish them. BY
the time Mr.. Andrews and the foreman
had reached the head Of the stairs there