“Watch the spelling of names, Elda. This is the third one we’ve checked you on today. Don’t you ever consult the city directory?”
“Of course I do!” Elda was indignant.
“Well, watch it,” Mr. DeWitt said again. “We must have accuracy.”
With a swish of skirts, Elda went back to her desk. Her face was as dark as a thunder cloud. Deliberately she dawdled over her next piece of copy. After she had turned it in, she returned to the editor’s desk to take it from the wire basket and make additional corrections.
“Just being extra careful of names,” she said arrogantly as the assistant editor shot her a quick, inquiring glance.
Thinking no more of the incident, Penny kept on with her own work. She took special care with names, even looking up in the city directory those of which she was almost certain. When she turned in a piece of copy, she was satisfied that not a name or fact was inaccurate.
Late in the afternoon, she noticed that Mr. DeWitt and Mr. Jewell appeared displeased about a story they had found in the Five Star edition of the paper. After reading it, they talked together, and then sorted through a roll of discarded copy, evidently searching for the original. Finally, Mr. DeWitt called:
“Miss Parker!”
Wondering what she had done wrong, Penny went quickly to his desk.
“You wrote this story?” he asked, jabbing a pencil at one of the printed obituaries.