Helen had stacked the copypaper in a neat pile on the desk and she took a sheet and rolled it into the typewriter. She had taken a commercial course the first semester and her mastery of the touch system of typing was to stand her in good stead for her work as editor of the _Herald_.
For several minutes the young editor of the _Herald_ sat motionless in front of her typewriter, struggling to find the right words. She knew her father would want only a few simple sentences about his enforced absence from his duties as publisher of the paper.
Then Helen got the idea she wanted and her fingers moved rapidly over the keys. The leading editorial was finished in a short time. It was only one paragraph and Helen took it out of the machine and read it carefully.
"Mr. Hugh Blair, editor and publisher of the _Herald_ for the last twenty years, has been compelled, by ill health, to leave his work at Rolfe and go to a drier climate for at least six months. In the meantime, we ask your cooperation and help in our efforts to carry out Mr. Blair's ideals in the publication of the _Herald_. Signed,
After reading the editorial carefully, Helen called to her brother.
"Come in and see what you think of my lead editorial," she said.
Tom, his hands grimy with ink from the type he had been throwing into the cases, came into the editorial office.
He whistled in amazement at the change Helen had brought about. The papers were gone from the floor, which had been scrubbed clean, and the desk and counter were neat and orderly.
"Looks like a different office," he said. "But wait until I have a chance to swing a broom and mop in the composing room. And I'm going to fix some of the makeup tables so they'll be a little handier."
Helen handed him the editorial and Tom read it thoughtfully.
"It's mighty short," he said, "but it tells the story."
"Dad wouldn't want a long sob story," replied Helen. "Here's the clipped editorials. You can put them on the hook on your Linotype and I'll bring the others out as soon as I write them."
Tom returned to the composing room with the handful of editorial copy Helen had given him and the editor of the _Herald_ resumed her duties.
She wrote an editorial on the beauty of Rolfe in the spring and another one on the desirability for a paved road between Rolfe and Gladbrook, the county seat. In advocating the paved road, Helen pointed to the increased tourist traffic which would be drawn to Rolfe as soon as a paved road made Lake Dubar accessible to main highways.