Polytechnic High School - Caerulea Yearbook (Long Beach, CA)

Page 27 text:

1 wish you would handle a case for me. A fellow by the name of Casey Jones has just died under very peculiar circum- stances, and we want a write-up for today's paper. If you go to the police station and inquire they can probably tell you something about it. If they can't, just inquire about town until you get your information. l have never tried to write this kind of a case, said Galey, but I'll do the best l can to help you. ' Thanks, replied Douglas, dryly, and turned away. Of course it was a joke, and we all knew it. I was about to tell Galey not to take Douglas' words seriously, but he had hurried away to the police station on his wild goose chase, before I could stop him. An officer who was at the station at the time told me what occurred. Mr. Keegan was at the desk, a man of much dignity and hot temper. Galey ap- proached him awkwardly. l represent the Clarion, he said, and l have come to find out about a man called Casey jones who has died under peculiar circumstances. What was that name, again? snapped Mr. Keegan. Casey jones, replied Galey. See here, young fellow, said Mr. Keegan, angrily, get- ting red in the face, don't try to play any of your smart re- porters' jokes on me. l've been made sport of before by such as you, and l'm halfia mind to fine you for contempt of court. This is no place for fooling. Poor Galey was so dumbfounded by this outburst that he could only gaze open-mouthed at the irate sergeant. At this point the phone rang. Mr. Keegan answered and after a moment his face softened. When he had finished talking, he addressed Galey. Say, cub, he said, l think I know what you're after. The station master at the freight yards of the R. and M. railroad just phoned that an old engineer, who the boys call Casey Jones, has been hurt in a wreck. l'm going to send a couple of officers down in an auto to handle the crowd. You can go along with them, if you want to, and get your story. Mr. Keegan seemed relieved to find that his dignity had not been lowered by his being made the victim of a joke, and he offered the special consideration of allowing Galey to ride down to the freight yards with the officers. l arrived at the yards myself, just a moment after Galey did. When l saw that he was going to try to report the affair, l decided to let him do his best, and not write it up myself. l watched him as he made his way through the crowd, always staying near one of the officers, and as he nosed about to find out what he could about the wreck. An engine, switching ' Twenty-One

Page 26 text:

so thin, and so intellectual, that his father was grievously worried for fear the boy would get sick from sheer excess of knowledge. Mr. Thorpe decided to break the college training short, and find some occupation for his son which would take him from his books. ln a happy moment, he thought of his friend, the editor of the Clarion, out west. Letters were ex- changed between the two, and it was finally arranged that Galey should join the staff on the Clarion as a reporter, re- ceiving a nominal salary, which his father secretly paid. Galey made his journalistic debut on the first day of July. He was strangely out of place in the Clarion ofhce, where the usual atmosphere of feverish haste was ever present, with coatless reporters scribbling in the midst of a litter of copy sheets, typewriters buzzing away at top speed, and copy boys rushing in and out. Added to the confusion was the din of the press room below, and the vibration of the whole building. ln the midst of this turmoil, however, C-aley was unperturbed. He went about his business in a slow preoccupied manner, living in his own academic atmosphere and exemplifying every- thing that a reporter on an up-to-date city newspaper like the Clarion should not be. The staff in general regarded him first with mild curiosity, then with indifference. Too busy to give him but passing notice, they thought he was some harmlessthing that the editor was taking care of. Jack Douglas in particular, however, a reporter of one year's experience was galled by Galey's pres- ence in the Clarion office from the first. l-le was a brisk, jaunty fellow who liked to be called a keen young blood. He dressed conspicuously, though not flashily, spent his money carelessly, and considered himself blase and clever. As l said, C-aley grated on Douglas from the first. This awkward, intellectual scarecrow, so free from self-interest, so lacking in worldly wisdom, so very sincere, was repulsive to Douglas' sensitive nature. At first he treated Galey with veiled contempt, so that Galey was inwardly hurt, without having cause to find fault with Douglas' conduct. This went on for some time. As the attitude of Douglas toward Galey became more openly unkind, that of the rest of the staff became more friendly. Douglas seemed to delight in taking advantage of the boy's simple sincerity and of making a joke of him, by what he thought was his cleverness. One morning Douglas entered the office in his jaunty manner, approached Galey, who was standing idle in a corner, watching the busy confusion of the room, and spoke to him in a patronizing tone. Say, Thorpe, he said, l have got to make a little trip to the country, and can't get back before three o'clock. l Twenty

Page 28 text:

I on the tracks, had collided with a moving train of freight, with the effect that the engine was thrown off the track and badly smashed, while the engineer was bruised severely though not very seriously. Galey went about here and there, craning his neck over the heads of the crowd, jotting down notes now and then on a pad, as he saw something of interest. He in- quired of bystanders about the injured engineer, and screwed his face into a knot, as holding his pad close to his eyes, he took down the items. Finally, he looked as if he felt satisfied. He put his pad into his pocket, and took long strides in the direction of the Clarion office. I followed him up. When I arrived at the office, Galey was seated at a desk in one corner of the room, writing in a painstaking manner. A few minutes later, he went into the editor's room. The editor was seated at his desk. How do you do, said Galey. I have a story for to- day's paper. It is about a wreck at the R. and M. freight yards. Here is the copy. Well, said the editor, you're right on the job, aren't you? l was just going to send a reporter down for that story. l didn't know about it until a moment ago. Let's see the copy. Yes, that's good. Say, Galey, you'll be a full fledged reporter before you know it. Galey left the room smiling. He loafed about the main office waiting for the proof of his story to be sent back. Not long after this Douglas hurried into the office, and went to the editor's room. Say, he said in a loud tone, l've got a story here just in time for the first edition. lt's about a wreck at the R. and M. freight yards. l was the only reporter on the spot, and the other papers can't get it now in time for a good write-up. l'll get busy right away and fix the copy. During this harangue, the editor had looked curiously at Douglas, smiling slightly. When the latter had finished, the editor paused a moment then said, You'd better get busy on something else. Galey Thorpe got that wreck story half an hour ago. Where were you this afternoon? Asleep? Before the surprised Douglas could answer, a boy came in with some proof sheets. The editor handed one to Douglas CASEY JONES INJURED Harvey Cole, an engineer on the R. and M. railroad, received painful but not serious injuries this afternoon when his engine jumped a defective switch and collided with a swiftly moving train of freight cars. Mr. Cole, on account of his ex- perience as an engineer, is called the 'Casey Jones of the R. and lVl.,' by his associates. who read, Twenty-Two