CHAPTER X
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING
Larry Dexter’s task was not an easy one. In the first place there were nearly a hundred of the bank employees, about whose houses he had to circle, in order to determine if there were any of the million-dollar bricks in the vicinity. This in itself was tedious work, but Larry was eager on the trail, for he could not tell at what moment he might make an unexpected discovery.
A week went by, however, with no result. Larry had “covered” many of the residences of the employees, but near none of them were buildings in the course of erection, where the bricks in question could be found.
The young reporter had his own troubles, too, for in several cases, after locating a new building near some bank employee’s house, and inquiring whether the pressed bricks were being used, he was regarded with suspicion.
More than once he was looked upon as a sort of drummer for the bricks, and told to be off about his own affairs. Again, he was suspected of being a walking delegate, trying to bring about a strike, on account of the use of non-union material, and the foremen were on the point of escorting him off the premises with force.
For, on this search, Larry did not describe himself as a reporter looking for clews in the great bank mystery. He did not want it known who he was, for he realized that if the other papers learned about his efforts they would put reporters on the same scent, and Larry would lose all chance of securing a “beat.” And, while he was doing his best to solve the mystery for the bank, his first duty was to his own paper, and he realized that. He must get the “story” if everything else failed. But he hoped he could do both.
It was a warm Sunday in May. All the week Larry had worked hard on the bank mystery, and, now that he had a day of rest, he felt that he wanted to get far away, where he could see nothing to remind him of it, where he could not smell printer’s ink, or hear the thunder of the presses, and the rustle of paper.
For, though the young reporter was loyal to his assignment, he realized that sometimes to get away from a case you are hard at work on, and take in new ideas and scenes, helps to bring results when the loose threads of clews are again taken up.
“I think I’ll go for a walk in Central Park,” he said to his mother, when they had come back from church. “It will do me good. I’ll take Mary and James with me.”
“No, Larry,” suggested his mother. “You just go off by yourself. Lucy will take the little ones. You want to be free to think, and, if you see anything that will help you, you want to be in a position to go after it. Go off by yourself, and maybe you will discover something that will help you.”