From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in Journalism

by Howard Roger Garis

When school was dismissed Larry did not stop, as he sometimes was in the habit of doing, to chat with his acquaintances. He hurried off to the lot. As he approached it he took a careful observation. There was no one in the big field, which seemed dark, gloomy, and lonesome to the boy.

He had half a mind to give the whole thing up. He was afraid he would discover nothing and would have his trouble for his pains. Then, too, he thought, if there should be something buried there, and the men came along and discovered him, they might harm him.

“Well, there’s nothing like trying,” he reasoned.

Then he crawled under the fence, got his spade and lantern, and walked to where he had placed the marking stake. It had not been disturbed. Larry lighted the candle in the lantern, and, placing it where it would throw an illumination on the spot to be dug up, and would not be likely to be seen from the street, the boy stuck the spade into the ground.

It was not easy digging, and before he had gone down two feet his back began to ache. The men had packed the lower layers of dirt in quite hard, and there were many small stones encountered.

With a strong shove from his foot Larry sent the spade down quite a distance. The sharp edge struck something unyielding and stopped. Pushing with all his force, Larry could not get it beyond the obstruction.

“Maybe that’s the stone they put on top of whatever they buried,” the boy thought. “I must be getting close now.”

He enlarged the hole, so as to get his spade under the edge of the obstruction. When he had done this he placed a corner of his shovel under the edge of the stone, and pried upward with all his strength.

Slowly the flat stone began to move. It pried the dirt up with it, and the boy was almost trembling in his eagerness. Then, with a suddenness that sent him sprawling on his back, the stone flew out of the hole, and a shower of dirt fell on Larry.

He scrambled to his feet and looked into the hole. At the bottom he could see, in the dim light of the lantern, a small black box. He grabbed it up, and, only stopping to blow out the candle, he ran at top speed, leaving the lantern and spade behind him. He wanted to get home as quickly as possible, and cast aside everything that could hinder him.