Herbert had been advised to call at the Argus office at noon for the purpose of presenting his letter of introduction to Mr. Blakeley, the city editor of that newspaper. He prepared himself carefully for the forthcoming interview, trying especially in a half conscious way to rid himself of the rustic appearance which he felt might lessen his prospects, or impair his prestige with the newspaper man he was about to meet. The Argus office was located almost in the center of the cluster of large buildings on Park Row, and as Herbert looked up at the edifice he could not repress a feeling of pride at the thought that in a day or so he would be numbered among the busy workers in that bee-hive of industry.
He took the elevator and was shot up to the fifth floor with a suddenness that almost took his breath away. A boy standing at the door of this landing demanded his card, and while Herbert sat there waiting for a reply he noticed that the door was kept locked, and that newcomers were greeted with a large sign which read:
“Positively no admittance except on business.”
He thought this was rather inhospitable at the time, but later in his career realized that it was a necessity in order to permit the orderly and speedy transaction of business. A newspaper office is looked upon as the Mecca for eccentric people of all kinds and characters and if they were admitted promiscuously they would consume the time of the editors and reporters and make it impossible to issue the paper at all.
Presently the office boy returned, and said:
“Step inside.”
He walked into a large room and was directed to a smaller room, which was partitioned off in the extreme corner. A tall, thin man rose to greet him, and nodding in a friendly way, pointed to a chair:
“I am sorry,” said this gentleman, “that Mr. Blakeley, the city editor of the Argus, is not here to-day. This is his day off. However he spoke to me about you and I am very glad to meet you; but it is not possible for me to serve you in any way to-day. It will be necessary for you to see him in person before you can go to work.”
Herbert thanked him for his courtesy and the pleasant manner in which he had been greeted and promised to return again the next day. In the few minutes he was in the office he noticed that the room was gradually beginning to assume an air of activity. Men were coming in constantly and seating themselves in front of desks in the large apartment, which because of the ink and paper and pencils and furniture looked very much like a large edition of the old schoolroom in Cleverly.
Herbert was quite disappointed at not seeing Mr. Blakeley on his first visit, but resolved to utilize the remainder of the day by sight-seeing. He visited many of the places of interest in New York, including the Aquarium, the tomb of General Grant at Riverside Park, and the Metropolitan Museum in Central Park. All of these things were deeply interesting, and in a larger sense highly educational. On his way home he purchased copies of all the afternoon papers, and after dinner that evening spent several hours in going over them very carefully with a view of becoming familiar with the style of reporting that prevailed on the popular newspapers in New York City. In spite of the fact that he had put in a very busy day he went to bed with a feeling of regret over the apparent loss of two whole days.