is occasion Miss Jennie had paid more than usual attention to her
toilette, for she was about to set out to capture a man, and the man was
no other than Radnor Hardwick, the capable editor of the _Daily Bugle_,
which was considered at that moment to be the most enterprising morning
journal in the great metropolis. Miss Baxter had done work for some
of the evening papers, several of the weeklies, and a number of the
monthlies, and the income she made was reasonably good, but hazardously
fitful. There was an uncertainty about her mode of life which was
displeasing to her, and she resolved, if possible, to capture an editor
on one of the morning papers, and get a salary that was fixed and
secure. That it should be large was a matter of course, and pretty Miss
Jennie had quite enough confidence in herself to believe she would earn
every penny of it. Quite sensibly, she depended upon her skill and her
industry as her ultimate recommendation to a large salary, but she was
woman enough to know that an attractive appearance might be of some
assistance to her in getting a hearing from the editor, even though he
should prove on acquaintance to be a man of iron, which was tolerably
unlikely. She glanced at the dainty little watch attached to her
wristlet, and saw that it lacked a few minutes of five. She knew the
editor came to his office shortly after three, and remained there until
six or half-past, when he went out to dine, returning at ten o'clock, or
earlier, when the serious work of arranging next day's issue began. She
had not sent a note to him, for she knew if she got a reply it would be
merely a request for particulars as to the proposed interview, and she
had a strong faith in the spoken word, as against that which is written.
At five o'clock the editor would have read his letters, and would
probably have seen most of those who were waiting for him, and
Miss Baxter quite rightly conjectured that this hour would be more
appropriate for a short conversation than when he was busy with his
correspondence, or immersed in the hard work of the day, as he would be
after ten o'clock at night. She had enough experience of the world to
know that great matters often depend for their success on apparent
trivialities, and the young woman had set her mind on becoming a member
of the _Daily Bugle_ staff.

She stepped lightly into the hansom that was waiting for her, and said
to the cabman, "Office of the _Daily Bugle_, please; side entr