The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-14
~ PAREPA'S SCOOP ;,
BY oIlAR.A R. JEMIsoN.


 pa from her slumbers at l r. o'clock a m. ThS news was re- A ceived with surprising alacrity. | "All right Much obliged" |" said Parepa. and hung the receiver up with a bang.
 Parepa smiled; then considered wildly for moment She took down the re- ceiver again.
 Central give me 1ss. Is that islf This at onoe. with Neil fer a driver. No one but Neil. mind. And be quick" Parepa was in the charming dfsasray of a robe de nuit This she cast of. threw in a chair and began . nasty toll lette. She wondered if there was any chance that the Governor would die in the next half hour. Not that she wanted him to die--oh. dear. nei he was . sood man and all that but since he was to die in the course of few hours, 1t would help her vastly if the demise took place by 2 o'clock. That would give her time to telegraph the news to The Daily Star | before 1t went to press with its morning edition.
 For Parepa was a reporter, and noth- ing like such good copy as tho death of the States Chief Executive had come her way since she had begun to earn her cake and pie with yellow pencil and a note book.
 She considered 1t a streak of good luck that the Governor had been taken with this fatal illness while on a vssit to a friend in Chester. No one had supposed that tho attack was serious. aud if she could scoop the other papers in the State on his death. her journalistic fortune was made.
 The Daily Star. in the States capital. had taken her on trial. This was after the editor of The Morning Times of the same city. had refused her services on the ground that she was a woman. The Times was The Stars rival contempo- rary. The Times man said (this was what Parepa heard) that he could "cuss 1 a man out with better grace, and had thsrsupon given the Chester correspond ence to the professional reporter who had formed a syndicate of all the news papers in the State except The Star. The Star declined to be punched.
 Since Parepa's engagement with The Star she had progressed. Twice had she scooped the syndicate reporter, and had enjoyed the impious reflection of his prob- able "cussing out"
 Once Parepa had had occasion to visit the city office of The Star and had been brought face to face with Felix Sterne. the managing editor. The atmosphere was toy. Parepa shivered whenever she recalled the event, and yet-and yet
 Well, before the interview closed, tho managing editor had paid her the distinct compliment of saying that she was "get- ting on." This. against all newspaper precedent It was really Parepa's. eyes that drew the acknowledgement. though Felix sterns said 1t was her nose-her nose for news. l mean. | Parepa wondered. as she skirmished for l her clothes, if the syndicate reporter had learned of this sudden turn in affairs. She dashed into a shirt-waist. and wick edly hoped that he had not. 1 Carriage wheels rolled to the gate. Pa repa tucked up her hair, thrust her hat over obstreporous curls. and made furi- ous search for her note book and pencil.
 Her first direction to Nell was to drive to the telegraph office.
 1T shall have a wire of perhaps one thousand words by 2 o'clock" she said to the operator, "and don't let that man Mccall get ahead of me-"
 "pu do my best" smiled the operator Che could smile even at 1:3o a. m. at Pa- repa) "but reach here first If you get your stuff on the wires ahead of him. | we can shut him out as long as your copy lasts" "A | The home of the friend where the Gov ernor lay i'll was at least mile from the telegraph office, and was In the su | burbs of the town. When Parepa neareo the residence, now brilliantly lighted, her heart sank as she passed the fellow Mc- Call walking rapidly.
 'rHe has heard" she said aloud as she clutched her pencil and sprang out at the door.
 The Governor was dead.
 There had been a sudden collapse. Just when he seemed on the high road to re- coyery. he had astonished the physicians by sinking unexpectedly into the arms or death
 A friend of Parepa's had been at the bedside of the dying man and from nm 1 sine learned the details of the fatal Ill., ness He rehearsed the death-oeo scene Parepa logged his memory occasionally with a nertinent (did anyone say imperti- nentO question.
 She murmured sympathy when the mar rator paused for a moment. overcome with emotion, and-wished she couio hear what that other fellow was telling Mccall.
 The countenance of the syndicate re- porter was lugubrious. He talked In low tones befittinR the occasion. which made | PArepa nervous. She always hated that | husky undertone.
 Mccall was closing his note book, and | Parepa hurried out to her carriage ohe must reach the telegraph office first.
 As she closed the gate Parepa saw Mc- Call emerging from the doorway. She | know 1t was to be a race for the once unless she secured a monopoly in the livery business. She looked quickly about and saw only one public conveyance be- sides her own.