Triumph
Hardly had I escaped from Thuno Flâtum's audience hall when I noticed an athletic looking individual darting from the direction of the throne-room. Breaking through the ranks of my followers in frantic agitation, he headed straight toward me; while I, imagining him to be an agent of justice, hastened my footsteps in the effort to regain my "scootscoot," which was waiting a few hundred yards away.
But my efforts were futile. I was too greatly impeded by my attendants, who had been reduced to such thoughtlessness that they would not get out of my way; and, try as I might, my pursuer was gaining upon me. "Wait a minute there! Just a minute!" he shouted, when he had come within a few dozen yards. "Just a minute! I've something to tell you!"
But, of course, the only effect was to spur my flight.
Nevertheless, he finally caught up with me, puffing and panting prodigiously, just as I had reached my "scootscoot" and was about to dash away. And only then, as I turned in alarm to confront him, did I recognize the official yellow badge of the press!
"I represent the Screamer!" he gasped, when he had halfway regained his breath. "Let me have your story! Quick! The Blare man will be here any minute!"
Surely enough, another individual, racing toward us from far down the gallery, proved to be a reporter for the Blare!
All at once I realized how foolish my flight had been. Though still in a hurry to get away, I could find time to present my story to both newspapers, with a wealth of detail. Although I did not quite foresee the results, I already had a suspicion that the Blare and the Screamer would prove my salvation.
In less than an hour the new editions were on sale, competing with one another in the sensationalism of their reports. "Air special! Air special!" I heard the newsgirls crying from the court outside my apartment window, as I paced back and forth, trying to decide on my next action. "Insurrection in the guards! Thuno Flâtum defied! Mysterious stranger demands throne as price of air! Read all about the great rebellion! Super-super-extra-extra! Super-super-extra-extra!"
Naturally, I rushed out into the gallery to buy a paper, but was able to do so only with the greatest difficulty, for people were flocking from all sides to get copies, and supplies were soon exhausted. However, I did manage to get a Screamer, and this is what I read: