“Yes. The city editor you telephoned to?”
“Oh yes, I heard him tell someone to ‘jump out on the fire.’”
“Then they’ll come. Now, youngster, let’s see--what’s your name? Oh yes,--Larry. Well, I’m going to have my hands full now. Never mind about holding the umbrella. But drop in the _Leader_ office and see me some day, say about five o’clock in the afternoon, after we go to press.”
“All right,” said Larry, dimly wondering how he was to get home, since he had spent his last ten cents for the telephone. But Mr. Newton was thoughtful to remember that item, and taking a quarter from his pocket he handed it to Larry.
“That’s for the message and your trouble,” he said.
Larry was glad enough to take it, though he would have been satisfied with ten cents.
“Don’t forget to call and see me!” said Mr. Newton.
The next instant there came loud cries of warning, and looking up Larry saw the whole upper front of the building toppling outward, and ready to fall over.
“Back! Back for your lives!” cried police and firemen in a shrill chorus.
Larry turned and ran, as did scores of others who were in the path of the crumbling masonry. A moment later the crash came. Then followed a rush of the frightened crowd, in which Larry was borne from his feet and carried along, until he found himself two blocks from the fire.
He turned to make his way back to within the fire lines, but found it too hard a task, as the crowd was now enormous. Then he decided to give it up as a bad job, and go home. Inquiry of a policeman showed him which car to take, and an hour later he was in the small apartment, where he was met by his mother and the children, who were much alarmed over his absence.
“No luck, mother,” Larry said, in answer to a look from Mrs. Dexter. “But I earned fifteen cents, anyhow, by helping at a fire.”
Then Larry told his experience to the no small wonderment of them all.
“Maybe Mr. Newton will help me get a job,” he said hopefully.
“I wish he would,” said Mrs. Dexter. “I have some work to do, Larry,” she added.
“Yes, a lady on the floor above does sewing for a factory. It happened that one of the women who works in the place is sick, and our neighbor thought of me. I went to the shop, and I got something to do.”