“I’m sure Dad would want everyone to carry on,” Penny said quietly. “The paper must be published the same as always.”
“We could do our work and do it well, if Schirr would just leave us alone,” growled one of the copy readers.
“That’s right!” added another. “Why don’t you take over, Penny?”
“Mr. Schirr just reminded me that I’m not the editor. I know nothing about running a newspaper.”
“How about the time you ran the High School weekly?” Salt reminded her. “Why, you did a bang up job of it, and uncovered The Secret Pact story to boot! Don’t try to tell us you don’t know how to run a newspaper!”
“A weekly high school sheet and the Star are two different propositions.”
“But your father has a fine organization here,” Salt argued. “If Schirr can be kept from breaking it up, everything will go along. The boys all know their jobs.”
Penny’s eyes began to sparkle. But she said: “I don’t see how I could take over, much as I would like to do it. Schirr has staked out rights in Dad’s office and nothing will move him short of a court order.”
“You don’t need a fancy office to run a paper,” Salt grinned. “We’ll just take our orders from you. Schirr can sit until he’s had enough of it.”
Penny gazed at the eager, loyal faces about her. Nearly all of the men were old employees, personally trained by her father and Mr. DeWitt. She knew she could depend on them.