The Hilltop Boys Part 16

Herring still treated Jack with disdain but was careful to avoid an open rupture, the recollection of the stunning blow which the apparently slight young fellow had given him acting as a deterrent to his wrath so that he avoided the boy as much as possible while he still retained his rancor.

Percival said nothing to Jack about his past life, preferring to let the boy take his own time about clearing up the mystery which was no clearer than before.

"I'll get even with Sheldon before I leave the Academy," declared Herring to Ernest Merritt and another of his satellites a day or so after the exciting scene in front of the school. "He can't walk over me if he has got d.i.c.k Percival for his friend."

"You can't lick him," laughed Merritt, who did not have the same fear of his a.s.sociate that he formerly had. "He has a fist like a rock for all that he looks so slight. You were three or four minutes coming round the other day."

"Suppose he has?" snarled Herring. "I can train, can't I? If I send him a challenge to fight, he can't refuse to take it up and keep his self-respect, can he?"

"Yah! what do you know about self-respect or honor?" laughed Merritt.

"You haven't got either and----"

He was obliged to retreat and leave the sentence unfinished to avoid the swinging blow that Herring aimed at him, the third boy narrowly missing catching it in his stead.

"Here! Look out what you are about!" he roared. "Look where you're hitting, can't you?"

"Pete Herring means to do Jack an injury, Art," said Harry who had seen the three talking together, "and we shall have to watch him."

"I guess Jack can watch himself," chuckled Arthur. "He is not afraid of Pete Herring and he is not a boy to be caught napping."

"But some one threw him down the ravine."

"Yes, but it won't happen again and so we won't have to keep a watch upon this fellow. I'd like to know if it were really Pete who did it.

d.i.c.k met him and Merritt right after the thing happened and puts it down to one of them."

"I think it was Pete myself," said Harry, "and that's why I think he needs looking after."

The new number of the Academy magazine was expected to come out in a day or so and promised to be a very interesting one, Percival and the a.s.sisting members of the editorial staff having gone over the proofs and found them satisfactory.

There was still some little matter to go in and Jack promised to furnish this, taking or sending it to Mr. Brooke who did the printing.

On Friday afternoon, having written the last of his copy, Jack took Percival's runabout which he now had permission to do at any time, and set off for Riverton and the office of the _News_.

He saw d.i.c.k as he was leaving and said:

"I am going down with the last of the matter for the magazine. Will you come along?"

"No, I guess not. I am getting up for examination next week. I am a bit behind in my work. You won't hurt the machine."

"Very good. Brooke will want to print the paper and have it sent up to-morrow and so I am giving him the last of the stuff for it. It will not take long to set it up and then he can print it to-morrow."

"All right, I can trust you with it. Guess I don't have to revise what you write."

The run to Riverton was made in a short time and Jack left the car outside and went into the office, being somewhat surprised to hear the sound of presses going as he entered.

They were not usually started till the next day but Jack surmised that the editor might be running off some special job to save time and went straight to the inner office where he saw Mr. Brooke pecking away at the typewriter.

"Pretty busy now, Mr. Sheldon," said the little man, looking up for an instant. "You'll have to excuse me."

"But I have brought the last of the copy for the _Gazette_. Shall I give it to the foreman?"

"The last of it? Why, you sent it this morning and told us to go ahead with the magazine."

"I sent you copy this morning?" exclaimed Jack in some surprise.

"Yes, this morning or early this afternoon. We set it up and they are now running off----"

"But I sent you nothing, Mr. Brooke. You say they are running off the paper now?"

"Yes, of course. You said you wanted it the first thing in the morning."

With a vague sense of apprehension that something was wrong and yet unable to say why, Jack went out into the printing office and picked up a newly printed sheet from a pile that lay in front of the press then being worked.

The sheet was not folded and several pages of the matter were visible at once.

Quickly glancing his eye over the sheet he suddenly came upon an article on the first page which had no business there.

It was not more than four or five lines in length and was a bitter and most scurrilous attack on Dr. Wise, signed "Jack Sheldon."

"Stop the press," cried Jack to the boy who was feeding the sheets.

"Stop the press! This thing must not go in!"

"Hey?" shouted the boy.

"Stop the press!" cried Jack and in a moment he had thrown off the belt and the machine came to a standstill.

"What's the matter?" asked Mr. Brooke, missing the noise of the press and coming out to learn the reason.

"This!" said Jack, pointing out the offensive article. "Did you allow this to be set up, Mr. Brooke?"

"I? No, indeed. I did not know it was here. If you don't want it, why did you send it in?"

"I did not. I am not in the habit of signing my nickname to things I write. There was something else on this page and this rubbish has been inserted in its place. You can see that there is a break somewhere. How did you get this? Unlock the forms. It must be taken out at once. Where are the proofs? It will be easy enough to get the right matter to put back or it may be on one of the galleys."

While the press boy was looking for the missing type and the foreman was unlocking the forms, Jack questioned Mr. Brooke regarding the orders to hasten the printing of the magazine and the ident.i.ty of the person who had brought them.

"The foreman took the order," said the editor, "and told me about it. I supposed it was all right. I don't know who set up the article you naturally object to. If I did I would discharge him."

"What do you know about this?" Jack asked the foreman who was busy at the forms. "Did you see the copy or the proofs?"

"No, I did not," the man replied. "I had your order to go ahead with the printing but knew nothing of any extra matter to be set up. I never saw this article before. It has been set up and inserted without my knowledge."

"Here is some matter on a galley," said the boy. "Is that what you are looking for?"

"Yes," said Jack, looking over the type, for Mr. Brooke could not afford a typesetting machine and set his paper by hand. "Put it where it belongs and when the magazines are printed send the bundle direct to me.

If anything is in them that I do not approve we will not pay for the printing and in the future will have our work done elsewhere."

"You do not hold me responsible for this?" asked Brooke.