Jimmy is Tricked by His Rival
In a moment Jimmy was in telephonic communication with his chief. “There
has been a big coal mine disaster, Jimmy,” said Mr. Johnson. “We have
just received a despatch from Shenandoah about it. The mine is near that
city. More than one hundred men are believed to have been imprisoned in
the mine. It is not known how many are dead or whether any of the
entombed miners are still alive. We want as complete a story of the
disaster as you can gather in a short time, and we particularly want
photographs. You’ve got just about time enough to get there and get some
photographs before dark. You can pick up your story after you get your
pictures. Then hustle back here. If you make as good time as you have
made on some other assignments, you can get back here before 10:30. You
ought to make it by 11:00 for sure, and you _must_ be here by 11:15. I
would send Handley with you, but he is in Phillipsburg on a story. I
will try to get into touch with him by phone, and order him to go to
Shenandoah, to follow up the story to-morrow.”
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Johnson,” said Jimmy. “Good-bye. I’m off.” And in
less than no time he _was_ off.
The minute Jimmy had reached a safe altitude and was straightened out on
his course, he began to consider how he should cover this story. He had
never reported the story of a coal mine disaster. He was a little
uncertain as to how to get at it.
First of all, there was the matter of topography. Shenandoah was in the
very heart of the anthracite region in Pennsylvania. That meant it was
right among the hills. Jimmy knew the region well. It was almost on the
Air Mail route. In fact, in a straight line it was only three miles from
Ringtown. But a great ridge—the North Mahanoy Mountain, that towered
aloft almost 1,900 feet—rose between Ringtown and Shenandoah. The
highway between the two places, circuitous and winding, was probably
twice that distance. Jimmy was of course sure that he could make a
landing at Ringtown. But whether he could do so at Shenandoah or not, he
did not know. The town itself occupied almost every foot of the level
land in the little bottom in which it stood. On every side the ground
rose sharply.
Jimmy managed to get the proper topographic map from his map case.
Folding it in small compass he studied it as he flew along. The only
place where there seemed to be even the possibility of making a safe
landing was in the tiny bottom along Lost Creek, southwest of the town.
But the more Jimmy studied the map, the more impossible this place
seemed for his purpose. Jimmy finally decided that he would not take a
chance. He would land at Ringtown, get a motor car, and drive to
Shenandoah.
“If Johnnie Lee is home,” thought Jimmy, “there won’t be a bit of
trouble about that. Johnnie will take me over there in his car. That
will be just the thing, too. Then he can help me cover the story. I can
tell him what to do and he can do it readily enough. It will give him a
start toward reporting. Johnnie will know the country round about, too,
and that may be a very great advantage. For I see now that it is going
to hustle me to get back on time. I’m sure glad this has turned out this
way.”
A load seemed to drop from Jimmy’s mind. He had come to a decision as to
his course. Now he had only to drive ahead as fast as possible along the
way he had chosen. He felt his confidence growing.
Suddenly he heard his own name sounding in his head phones. “The New
York _Press_ speaking to Jimmy Donnelly,” said the voice. “We have been
in touch with Handley at Phillipsburg. He will go with you to
Shenandoah. Land at Easton and wait for him. He is on the watch for
you.”
Jimmy hardly knew whether to be pleased or sorry. He would be glad
enough of Handley’s help. Even the two of them could not clean up the
story in the short time Jimmy would have at the scene of the disaster.
But now that Jimmy saw an opportunity to help his friend Johnnie Lee, he
rather regretted that Handley was to join him. They could hardly bother
with Johnnie now.
These thoughts went through Jimmy’s mind in an instant. They did not
prevent him from answering promptly the _Morning Press_ message. He put
his mouthpiece to his lips and said: “Jimmy Donnelly talking to the New
York _Press_. I have your message about Handley and will wait for him at
Easton.”
When Jimmy reached that city, it looked for a little time as though he
would not be able to keep his word. It hardly seemed possible to make a
landing. But west of the city Jimmy found some fields and got down
safety, though he had a scare when he saw a fence loom up suddenly
before him. His plane struck sand and came to a stop within ten feet of
the fence.
Jimmy hopped out of the ship and looked about him. Handley was nowhere
in sight. “He’ll have to come along pretty soon if we are to get the
stuff back to New York in time,” thought Jimmy. “I wonder if there is
anything I could do to help matters.”
He thought of Johnnie Lee. “If I could talk to him,” muttered Jimmy, “I
could put him right to work.”
With Jimmy, to think was to act. Not far away was a house. Jimmy raced
over to it, and was rejoiced to see that telephone wires ran to the
house. He knocked at the door. A pleasant faced woman answered his
knock.
“Good afternoon,” said Jimmy, politely. “I need very much to use a
telephone. May I use yours?”
The woman looked him over. “I take it you are the pilot of the plane
that just landed,” she said.
“I am,” said Jimmy, “and I am in a trying situation. It will help me
greatly if I may use your phone.”
“Go ahead,” she said. “You are welcome. I’ll be glad if it will help
you.”
Jimmy called for the long-distance operator and asked for the Lee home
in Ringtown. He begged the operator to hurry the call, as it was an
urgent one. In a very few moments Jimmy had his connection. To his
delight, Johnnie himself answered the telephone. Jimmy recognized his
voice at once.
“Hello, Johnnie,” he said. “This is Jimmy Donnelly. Have you heard
anything about a mine explosion in your neighborhood?”
“We sure have,” said Johnnie. “It was near Krebs. It was a terrible
affair.”
“Where’s Krebs?” demanded Jimmy.
“About two miles from here. It’s at the foot of North Mahanoy Mountain.”
“What do you know about the disaster, Johnnie?”
“A lot, Jimmy. My father’s first cousin, Pat Healy, telephoned us all
about it. He’s a foreman in the mine, and was just on his way out when
the explosion occurred. He got out all right, though he was hurt some.
But he says there are scores of men entombed.”
“Can you get hold of him again, Johnnie?” cried Jimmy, his voice almost
shaking with eagerness.
“Sure. He lives near us. Why?”
“It’s like this, Johnnie. I’m on my way out to cover this story. I’ve
got to get pictures and as much of the story as I can pick up in a
little while. But I had to land in Easton to pick up Mr. Handley. That’s
going to delay me a lot. This is a chance for you to show what you can
do in collecting news. Will you try it?”
“Will I? You bet your neck I will. What do you want me to do?”
“Have you got a camera?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Then get some pictures of the wrecked mine if you can, and of the mine
entrance, injured miners, crowds at the shaft, or anything else that
will illustrate the story.”
“I can do that easily. I can drive to the mouth of the mine in less than
ten minutes. I’ll hustle right over and get all the pictures I can.
Anything else?”
“Sure. Get the story. Get hold of your father’s cousin again. Find as
many survivors as possible. See anybody you can who is in authority at
the mine and get a statement from him. Get all the details you can.”
“Just what do you want, Jimmy?”
“Find out what happened, when it happened, where it happened, how it
happened, why it happened, and to whom it happened. Get every detail you
can about every phase of the story. Get the names of the dead and
injured, if possible. Find out how many are still in the mine. Maybe Mr.
Healy can tell you. Get a story of the explosion from him. Find out how
it happened and what caused it. Get Mr. Healy to tell you about the mine
itself—what it is like, whether there is any chance for rescue, whether
there are places where the imprisoned men can take refuge in the mine.
Ask all the questions you can think of. Try to get enough stuff together
so you can tell me a complete story of the disaster when I get there.”
“I’ll do it, Jimmy. I’m off this minute. Good-bye.”
Jimmy said good-bye and rang off. “That was a lucky thought,” he
muttered, “to set Johnnie to work. He’s evidently got the inside track.
He may be able to get the whole story.”
Jimmy ascertained the amount of his tolls and paid the woman. She had
heard his talk with Johnnie and was intensely interested. She asked
Jimmy question after question about his work as a flying reporter.
Before Jimmy knew it, half an hour had passed. Then he noticed a clock
and frowned. He looked out at his plane. Some small boys had gathered
about it, but there was no sign of Handley. Fifteen minutes more passed,
and Jimmy was growing desperate. Finally he reached for the telephone
again. “Please get me the New York _Morning Press_” he told the
operator.
When Jimmy finally got his connection, he called for Mr. Johnson. “Have
you any idea how long it is going to take Handley to reach me here at
Easton?” he asked. “I’ve waited for him more than an hour already. I’ve
got to push on if I am to get any photographs.”
“What’s this about Handley and Easton and waiting an hour? What are you
talking about?” demanded the managing editor.
“What am I talking about!” exclaimed Jimmy. “I am talking about Handley.
You ordered me to wait for him in Easton. I’ve been here at Easton for
more than an hour. Can you give me any idea how soon he will arrive? I
can’t possibly wait much longer if I am to get back with the story in
time for the midnight edition.”
“You’re in Easton! Waiting for Handley! What are you talking about? I
never ordered you to stop at Easton. You ought to be in Shenandoah this
very minute.”
“You never ordered me to stop at Easton!” cried Jimmy. “Somebody did. I
received a radio message forty minutes after I took off, telling me you
had ordered Handley to join me here and ordering me to wait for him. I
acknowledged the message and supposed you had my acknowledgment.”
“Somebody has put one over on you, Jimmy,” said the managing editor.
“It’s a pretty bad business. But we have no time to discuss it now. Get
on to Shenandoah as fast as you can and do the best you can. I want to
see you about this as soon as you get back here. Now hustle.”
Jimmy was mortified, angry, and anxious. His face showed his anxiety. He
paid his telephone tolls and raced back to his plane. As fast as he
could, he got his ship into the air. Then he opened his throttle as far
as it would open and went streaking along the Air Mail route for
Ringtown.
In less than half an hour he dropped down on the landing field at that
place. He leaped from his plane, threw off his flying togs, and raced
for Johnnie Lee’s house. Johnnie’s mother met him at the door.
“Johnnie’s expecting you,” she said. “He called up a few minutes ago and
said you should call him at Healy’s when you arrived. Come in. I’ll get
the connection for you.” And in no time she had it. She asked for
Johnnie and handed the receiver to Jimmy.
“Hello, Johnnie,” he said. “This is Jimmy. I just arrived at your house.
Where are you? How can I get into touch with you?”
“I’m at Healy’s. It’s straight down the road. Mother will show you the
way. Come over as quick as you can. Mr. Healy is talking to me now.”
Jimmy hung up the receiver, got directions from Mrs. Lee, and raced down
the road. In ten minutes he was in the Healy home.
“What have you done and what have you learned?” Jimmy demanded, after
Johnnie had introduced him to Mr. Healy.
“I went right over to the mine with my camera, after you called me, and
I have a whole roll of films for you—a dozen pictures. They ought to be
good, for the conditions were just right for taking them. I got a
picture of the mine mouth, the crowd about it, some snaps of the rescue
crews descending into the mine, one of an injured miner who was hurt in
the attempt at rescue, and other similar pictures.”
“Good! They are just what I want. What about the story?”
“I believe I have the whole thing. Mr. Healy was in the mine when the
explosion occurred. In fact, he was close to the very spot where it
happened. He saw the explosion occur. He was injured slightly, but not
disabled. He gathered together all the men within call and started for
an old opening that is no longer used. The explosion had prevented
escape through the shaft used nowadays. Gases began to spread through
the mine, and the men with Mr. Healy were overcome one by one. Those
still able to walk tried to drag the others out. But the only man who
got out on his own feet was my cousin. He dragged out one man. Then he
collapsed himself. He came to in about half an hour and managed to
stagger home. He telephoned about the man he had dragged out, and some
miners came and got him. We heard about it over the telephone, just
before you called me from Easton.”
“Won’t you repeat your story to me, Mr. Healy?” asked Jimmy. “Just start
at the beginning. Tell me what the conditions were like in the mine when
the explosion came. That is, about how many men you think went into the
mine, how many were still in it, and what the mine is like. Give me a
mental picture of it, so I can follow your story. Then start again with
the explosion and tell me what you saw and did.” For half an hour Mr.
Healy talked steadily, stopping only when he was interrupted by Jimmy
with a question. He gave Jimmy an excellent picture of the mine
workings. Mr. Healy had been a foreman in this particular mine for
years, and knew every foot of it as workers above ground know the cities
in which they live. Then he told of the explosion, pictured the damage
it did, showed how it shut off escape by the newer shaft, and pictured
the situation of the imprisoned men. He estimated their number at more
than one hundred.
“If the gas was as severe in other chambers as it was where we were,” he
said, “most of those one hundred men are now dead. I have been using the
telephone, and so far as I can learn, we two men who got out through the
old drift are the only men who have escaped. Unless some of the miners
were able to retreat to dead ends of passages, ahead of the gas, and
make air-tight barricades to keep the gas out, I fear every man in the
mine is past help. But we shall not know for sure until the rescue crews
have searched every foot of the workings. That will take many hours, and
perhaps some days.”
Jimmy checked back over his notes. His story seemed to be very complete.
He asked for a few more details about this point or that. Then he thrust
his notes into his pocket. “You have given me a very complete account,
Mr. Healy,” he said. “I can write a mighty clear story just from these
notes. But I must see the mine myself, and the mine mouth, and the
crowds, and if possible I must talk with some of the officials. You
don’t feel well enough to go over there with me, do you?”
“Yes, I am all right now,” said Mr. Healy. “I’ll be glad to go with
you.”
They hurried out to Johnnie’s car and were rushed over to the mouth of
the mine, which was hardly more than a mile distant. Parking the car,
the three walked about through the crowd, observing, asking questions,
gathering up what incidents they could.
“There’s the superintendent,” said Mr. Healy, as a large man came out of
one of the mine buildings. “Would you like to talk to him?”
“I surely would,” answered Jimmy.
“Then come on.”
They walked toward the man. While they were still at some distance from
him, they saw a young man hurry up to him and lay a detaining hand on
his arm. The superintendent looked surprised. The young man said
something. The superintendent brushed him roughly aside and went on. He
seemed angry. He was still frowning when he came face to face with Mr.
Healy and the two lads.
“Pat, I’m mighty glad to see you,” said the superintendent, “but I am
mighty sad to see you alone. I fear it’s all up with the men
underground.”
“This young man wants to talk to you,” said Mr. Healy. “He’s a reporter
from New York.”
“So was that jackass that just tried to stop me,” said the
superintendent. “I don’t want to talk to reporters.”
“But this lad is a very good friend of mine,” urged Mr. Healy. “And he
is a gentleman. I know you will be willing to talk to him.”
“Well, what is it?” said the superintendent. “I haven’t much time to
spare. This is a crowded hour for me.”
“Thank you very much,” said Jimmy. “I know how you feel. I don’t blame
you for not wanting to talk about this terrible affair. I appreciate
your courtesy.” Then Jimmy began to ask questions, in a courteous,
considerate manner. The mine official gave him all the information he
asked for.
When the interview was ended, the superintendent walked on. So did the
Healy party.
Presently Jimmy heard a voice saying: “There he is. He’s the only man
who escaped unaided. He dragged out another man, and they are the only
men who have reached the surface so far.”
“I’ll get a statement from him,” replied another voice.
Jimmy knew this latter voice well—too well. He began to tremble with
anger. A sudden light shone in upon him. Now he understood the game that
had been played upon him. Now he knew who had tricked him into landing
at Easton. The voice he was listening to was the voice of Rand.
Like a shot Jimmy turned to Johnnie. “If you think anything of me,
Johnnie,” he said, “don’t let your cousin talk to the fellow who is
coming to interview him. It’s Rand, the fellow I have told you about. It
was Rand who stopped the superintendent a little while ago, though at a
distance I did not recognize him. But I know well enough now who it
was.”
Johnnie laid his hand on Mr. Healy’s arm. “Pat,” he said, “this fellow
who is approaching to talk to you is Jimmy’s worst enemy. He has just
played a dirty trick on him. Don’t say a word to him.”
“Played a dirty trick on Jimmy, did he? Very well. He gets no news from
me.”
A moment later Rand stepped up and began to question the mine foreman.
“I have nothing to say. See the superintendent,” snapped Mr. Healy. And
turning on his heel, he strode away, with Johnnie and Jimmy at his
heels.
But as Jimmy walked away, he said: “Rand, dirty tricks don’t pay. You
thought you had put over a clever one when you got me down at Easton
to-day, but your game failed. This is what came of it. You lose out
yourself.” And Jimmy hurried after Mr. Healy and Johnnie, while Rand
stood and cursed him. “I’ll get you yet,” Jimmy heard him say. But Jimmy
wasn’t caring about Rand’s threats. He held all the aces in the pack
himself.