Keating went to the telephone again, to worry “long distance”; then, grumbling about his last edition, he came back to ask more questions about Hal's experiences. Before long he drew out the story of the young man's first effort in the publicity game; at which he sank back in his chair, and laughed until he shook, as the nursery-rhyme describes it, “like a bowlful of jelly.”
“Graham!” he exclaimed. “Fancy, MacKellar, he took that story to Graham!”
The Scotchman seemed to find it equally funny; together they explained that Graham was the political reporter of the Eagle, the paper in Pedro which was owned by the Sheriff-emperor. One might call him Alf Raymond's journalistic jackal; there was no job too dirty for him.
“But,” cried Hal, “he told me he was correspondent for the Western press association!”
“He's that, too,” replied Billy.
“But does the press association employ spies for the 'G. F. C.'?”
The reporter answered, drily, “When you understand the news game better, you'll realise that the one thing the press association cares about in a correspondent is that he should have respect for property. If respect for property is the back-bone of his being, he can learn what news is, and the right way to handle it.”
Keating turned to the Scotchman. “Do you happen to have a typewriter in the house, Mr. MacKellar?”
“An old one,” said the other—“lame, like myself.”
“I'll make out with it. I'd ask this young man over to my hotel, but I think he'd better keep off the streets as much as possible.”