From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in Journalism

Walking softly Larry approached closer to where the men were at work. He could not see what they were doing, except that they were making a hole in the ground. One man stood a l...

It was now noon, and Larry, who had a healthy boy’s appetite, began to feel hungry. He had never eaten in one of the big city restaurants, and he felt somewhat timid about going...

“I believe Larry is right,” said Mrs. Olney. “The furniture would only be a trouble to you, Mrs. Dexter. Now would be a good chance to sell it, while the crowd is here. You ough...

There were few prouder boys in the big city of New York than Larry when, at the end of his first week, he carried home his wages. The five dollars seemed a small gold mine to hi...

The insurance investigation lasted for several days and Larry was kept busy carrying copy for Mr. Newton. On the second day Peter Manton reappeared, with a large discolored spot...

Larry handed over the umbrella and darted toward the sidewalk. He wiggled his way through the crowd, and went back to the lobby of the Flatiron Building, where he had noticed a...

Almost as rapidly as it had risen the flood went down. The storm ceased and the waters, finding many places to run to, soon disposed of themselves. The day after Larry won the r...

The tunnel under the Hudson River was begun several decades ago. It was started from the New York side, a little south of Christopher Street, and continued out under the bed of...

At first Larry thought they were perhaps only trying to play a joke on him. He involuntarily moved to one side, but, as he did so, one of the men grasped him by the coat collar....

As he passed the door of the room which he had seen the stranger enter Larry paused. He saw a light under the portal where there was a crack between the sill and the edge of the...

Larry’s desire to get a little study in during his spare moments was the cause of some trouble between him and the office boy who had taken Peter’s place. This lad’s name was To...

It was with some surprise that Larry found a dollar extra in his pay envelope Friday afternoon, for it was on that day that the assistant cashier used to come around with the sa...

“There goes the door!” cried the reporter, as a louder crash betokened that the portal had given way. “This will bring everyone in the house out to see what is going on.”

Bud first showed Larry how to work the pneumatic or compressed-air tube. Around it stood several other boys who seemed to be quite busy. Now and then one would dash in with a bu...

Larry passed a restless night. He slept but little and frequently he got up to peer from the darkened window. Sometimes he heard voices in the next room, and he knew the men wer...

Many thoughts occupied Larry’s mind. For some time he had been suspicious of the men on the floor below him. That they were up to no good seemed evident, yet he felt that it was...

For a little while Larry felt a sense of bitter disappointment. After all his effort and the plans of Mr. Emberg and Mr. Newton, to have the venture fail was, he thought, a hard...

The town was now a scene of wild confusion. The people were nearly out of their senses with fear, for they were alarmed lest the waters reach even the high places. Cooler heads...

In a little while the boat containing Peter was out of sight around the corner of the street. Larry thought it would be a good time to start in the right direction toward the te...

Larry went back to the hotel to report to Mr. Newton. He did not find him there, and so walked around in the corridor. The men were gathered in groups, talking of nothing but th...

The next day all the papers told of the impending operation on the millionaire’s daughter by the distinguished surgeon. His picture was in many of the publications, including th...

Larry was too interested in the proceedings for a while to pay any more attention to Peter. The latter had moved back to where he was at first, and though he occasionally glared...

As he watched he heard the men moving quickly about in the room below. Then a brighter glow suffused the apartment and Larry, looking through the crack, saw that one man had wha...

From his helmet the policeman drew out a paper. He began reading over a description of a number of missing persons whom the police had been asked, by their relatives, to help lo...

Larry went home, all excited over the prospects of his trip. It was the biggest thing he had yet been assigned to do in newspaper work, and he felt that it might be the stepping...

“Yes, I did,” replied Larry firmly. “I started down the hall with it as soon as Mr. Emberg gave it to me. You stood near the tube with some other copy and you said you’d send mi...

Larry looked up. There, bearing down on them, was a swift gasolene launch, one of several that had been doing rescue work about the flooded town. The man at the wheel had her he...

“Now then,” began the shrill voice of the auctioneer, “we’ll start these proceedin’s, if ye ain’t got no objections. Step right this way, everybody, an’ let th’ biddin’ be lively!”

Late that night, after Larry and Mr. Newton had gone to bed, they were awakened by a noise and excitement in the street. The rain had let up a little, and they got out of bed an...

The reporters got out their pencils and paper and began to interview the man. They wanted to know who was going to set off the dynamite, how many pounds he would use, where he g...

“Will the people in the house let us?” asked the boy, to whom the idea of anyone going through a private residence in this free and easy fashion seemed strange.

“Now there, don’t you worry one mite,” said the woman who had come to the door. “I know jest how you feel. Come right in. We haven’t much room, but there’s only my husband, and...

Larry’s mother could scarcely believe the good news that the boy brought her when he showed the thousand-dollar check. It seemed almost like a dream to all of them, and several...

“Sure,” replied the two men at once. They had stood in front of Larry, so that the new-comer could not see him at first. At this, however, they moved aside and the well-dressed...

Into the main room of the police station came the two officers, their prisoner, the woman, and the Italian. Some of the crowd tried to follow, wild with excitement, but the door...

Larry was in such a hurry to get to the office with the copy, for he had been delayed some time, that he did not look at the card the elderly gentleman had given him until some...

“They don’t have many stories in newspapers,” said Larry, who had begun to consider himself somewhat of an authority in the matter. “At least they call the things they print sto...