Page:Lynch Williams--The stolen story and other newspaper stories.djvu/62

 "You don't know Woods. He'll go like the devil over to his new bosses and confess the whole thing."

"They'll give him"

"But not till they've made him sit down and dictate the whole story to a relay of stenographers—there's still time for it— Then where's our beat, Haskill!"

"We've got to keep him here then."

"But if he suddenly comes to now, here in this office, Haskill?"

"Then hold him anyway, Stone!"

"But we can't, man; he's no office-boy." They both looked at the boy in Stone's grasp. He had been quietly taking in all they said; also several features about the room that pleased him.

"Here," said Stone, "you lock up this boy—lock him up tight. I'll fix Woods somehow." And he ran back to the outer room in time to see Billy, who had decided not to write any more after all, tap the collected sheets of copy even against the desk top and start, rather gayly it seemed, up the room. Stone almost ran to beat him to the desk.