My first story's on the wire,"
explained the newcomer offhand. "I want some local-color stuff for my
second day follow-up."
"It must be hard to do that," said Banneker interestedly, "when you
haven't seen any of it yourself."
"Patchwork and imagination," returned the other wearily. "That's what I
get special rates for. Now, if I'd had your chance, right there on the
spot, with the whole stage-setting around one--Lordy! How a fellow could
write that!"
"Not so easy," murmured the agent. "You get confused. It's a sort of
blur, and when you come to put it down, little things that aren't really
important come up to the surface--"
"Put it down?" queried the other with a quick look. "Oh, I see. Your
report for the company."
"Well, I wasn't thinking of that."
"Do you write other things?" asked the reporter carelessly.
"Oh, just foolery." The tone invited--at least it did not
discourage--further inquiry. Mr. Gardner was bored. Amateurs who
"occasionally write" were the bane of him who, having a signature of his
own in the leading local paper, represented to the aspiring mind the
gilded and lofty peaks of the unattainable. However he must play this
youth as a source of material.
"Ever try for the papers?"
"Not yet.
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