The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-11-06
Cub Reporter
Could Not See
the Story
BY MORRIS SCHULTZ
n.oopar ITptop \

"HERE I am on a newspaper SAD
- the Kid to himself, swelling
with pride as he glanced around him.
1t was the acme of all his hopes.
To rise to the proud eminence of a
newspaper reporter was something
that he had dreamed Of ever since he
left college. And now he was a fedg-
ling reporter on the Planet.
Sheer nerve had got him in. He
had forced his way in to Seebright,
the owner; had refused to leave with
out a job. At last Seebright scrubbed
a note to the city editor "Try this
mar out" it ran.
1t was his third day. All about him
men were tipping for dear life, or sour
rying to and fro, bundles of proofs
were being rushed down from the COM
posing room-oh, the Kid was having
the time of his lifel
"Mr. Caxton! !"
The Kid hurried up to the big mans
desk.
"Mr. Caxton, do you think you could
report a weddingT"
"I'm sure l could, sir" answered the
Kid, swallowing with pride.
"Well, you know Jane Marchmont,
the fnancier's daughter, is to be mar
ried to August McCalmont this after
noon at her fathers house. She was
to have married him last year, but
turned him down a day or two before
the wedding. Go up and get a good
one-column report of it. Have a look
at the presents and get a list of them
and of the guests. Then hurry back
with your story"
The Kid, swelling with pride until
he nearly burst, left the city EDITORS
room. He felt that the eyes of every
one must be upon him with envy.
What a chance to write a story! A
big story about the b~lushing bride and
the proud grooml A wonderful, hui
a. story!
He left the building and was about
to step into a street car when it oc-
Cured to him that the occasion mer-
tied something better than that. He
hailed a taxi.
Number 224 Des Moines avenue"
he instructed the driver, and, leaning
back, lit a cigarette. Idly he watched
the smoke rings coiling upward.
The afternoon wasted away. In the
offices of the Planet the daily order
was slowly being evolved out of the
daily confusion. Men hurried in with
stories, orders were bawled. Even the
city editor paid very little thought to
the McCalmont-Marchmont wedding,
for there was a big story on hand
about a body discovered in an empty
room in a tenement.
1t was not until the paper was
nearly ready to go to press with the
late afternoon edition that the fore
man bawled down the tube:
"Say, old man, where the h-rs that
column about that w~edding?"
The city editor recollected 1t. He
forgot whom he had assigned to cover
it. He looked in his book. "Oh, Cax-
ton," he said. He looked round him.
where's Caxton?"
Nobody had seen Caxton, and hardly
anybody knew him. "Caxtonl" he
)awled. "Caxtoni
And at that moment he saw Caxton
coming slowly in at the door. He
beckoned to him, and Caxton quick
ened his steps.
"You want me, sir?'
"Sure / want you," answered the
city editor. 81 haven't seen that story
about the wedding. You should have
it in the Office, and then we
nave sent it up to the composing
room stick by stick. Got it ready, have
you? What? You haven't written it?
My God, man, don't you know what
we go to press? Here, sit down
and let's hsve It'll Write for
dear life !"
"Oh, that storyw said Caxton.
There won't be anything about that"
Wont be anything? What the
dickens do you mean by that?"
why, there wasn't any wedding
after all,' answered Caxton. "You see,
lust as the clergyman was standing
Up facing the pair the bride turned
IN the groom and said in a loud and
lear voice, August, I've let you lead
to the altar in order to humiliate
7ou publicly for the affront you placed
lpon me last week. l shall never
marry you And she tore off her
,ridal veil and flung it on the ground,
the party broke up in confusion
$50 you see there wasn't any we'd
u. - -N4L.-~ ~ x,,;+o alA,.+ |
meant to tell you, but it must have
Tipped my memory"