"But that was the story," cried Peter. "Can't you see that."
"Why Dempsey could knock out Larry Williams a hundred times in an afternoon," objected Pat.
"That isn't the point," Twice broke in. "News isn't things that might happen. News is things that do happen. When a reporter goes out on a story there are four things for him to remember."
"I know," said Pat. "When! Where! What! and Why!"
"Yes, and there are two ways of doing a story. One of them is the way I want it to be done. The other doesn't count. I don't want you to argue with me. I tell you that your story should have been about Larry Williams getting knocked out. Some day you'll learn why. Pat, I'm not going to fire you. You've got stuff. Deering's had a crack at you and so has your father. Now I'm going to see what I can do. You're to go back to New York this afternoon. Report at my office on Monday. Hereafter you'll get your assignments from me and turn your copy over to me. I've never been licked yet and I'm not going to be licked now. I'm going to make a newspaperman of you or my name's not Rufus Twice."
After Twice had gone Peter asked, "Pat, what made you want to throw me down?"
"You don't think I made all this trouble for you on purpose?"
"Well, why did you go and write a story about Daredevil Oliver and leave Dempsey out of it?"
"It seemed so much more important to me. You'd have thought so too if you'd seen him. He just leaned back off the platform so slowly. He could have stopped himself any second. And then all of a sudden he couldn't. And he started to fall."
"But the story was signed with my name. Didn't you think of that?"