“I hadn’t thought of it, but certainly the Western States would profit, if John Morning turned part of his product there. How about your World-News on that?”
“I favor Mr. Borden for the sixth place in second column,” Kennard said simply.
“Borden reached Tokyo three weeks after Morning—and never campaigned before.”
“He’s one of the best of the younger men in New York—a Washington correspondent of big influence——”
“I have no objection to him, except as one to take the place that belongs to John Morning. I can’t see him there.”
Kennard looked about him. Morning was not well known, having been little seen at the Imperial in the last six weeks. Fallows had not helped him by saying he was the best war-writer sent out from the States; still in a general way he could not be put aside. Kennard saw this.
“I wasn’t going to hurt Morning badly, if I could help it,” he said, “but Mr. Fallows has rather forced it. This Morning isn’t straight. We caught him stealing a sheath-knife from the saddle-bags of Archibald Calvert down in Luzon four or five years ago. Morning said he found it on a table in the room assigned to us. He took money from Calvert for restoring the knife.”
Fallows laughed at this.
“I can’t believe the story,” he said. “The man who did the stuff I’ve read, isn’t stealing sheath-knives from another’s saddle-bags.... Oh, I don’t mean that it didn’t seem true to you, Kennard——”
Kennard had waited for the last, and was not good to look at until it came. He turned quickly to the others. Borden was chosen.