“I’ll inquire in the copy room downstairs,” said the city editor. With the boys following him, he went to the apartment where the pipe was located, in which the copy was sent upstairs. It was the duty of one boy to remain here all the while the paper was going to press to see that the machinery was in order.
“Who sent up the last copy, Dudley?” asked Mr. Emberg.
“Peter Manton,” replied Dudley. “There was some other fellow that ran in the last minute, but Peter took the copy from him and said he’d send it up.”
“What kind of copy was it?” asked the city editor.
“On red—no—it was on yellow paper,” replied Dudley.
“And did you see Peter put it in the pipe?” asked Mr. Emberg.
“No, sir. I didn’t look at him closely. I had to turn on a little more compressed air then, and I was too busy to take much notice.”
“Peter, you never sent that copy up!” exclaimed the city editor suddenly, turning to the sulking office boy. “You are up to some trick. Tell me what you did with it.”
“I didn’t——” began Peter.
But Mr. Emberg, with a quick motion, leaned forward and tore open Peter’s coat. Out on the floor tumbled a number of yellow sheets of paper. Mr. Emberg picked some of them up.