“That was Jack himself,” said Dick. “I was there just afterward and took the thing up to the Academy in my car. Jack is a modest fellow and you could not get him to say anything about himself.”
“Very well put,” said the editor. “What do you think about the political situation? I want a leader on it but hardly feel equal to it.”
“Write him an editorial, Jack,” laughed Dick. “How much do you pay for good articles, Mr. Brooke?”
“H’m! the News is not equipped for paying very much for anything,” replied the other, pecking at the machine, “but if I could get a really good article on the situation at present or anything, the farming outlook, for instance, I would be willing to pay something for it.”
“I can tell you what I think,” said Jack, quietly, “and furnish you with articles on different subjects. I would like to earn all the money I can as I am paying for my education out of my own pocket.”
“H’m! very commendable spirit,” snapped the other. “Is that your case, Mr. Percival?”
“No, I cannot say that it is. However, I am anxious to see how Jack makes out as a writer of editorials. Let Mr. John Sheldon have your desk for a few minutes, Mr. Brooke.”
“It won’t be long,” said Jack, blushing. “Only a few sentences but it is just what I think.”
He sat at the typewriter and wrote rapidly for a few minutes, during which time both Percival and Mr. Brooke remained perfectly quiet.
When he had finished, Jack took the paper from the machine and handed it to the editor, saying: