. "Don't be too diffuse, but see that
you miss nothing. What is that paper in front of you?" He took the paper
from Desmond O'Connor's hands and held it at arm's length, while a
sardonic smile held possession of his face.

"Shall I let the old man see it?" he asked. "Mr. Brown would like to see
himself as you see him, under the title of 'Old Eb.' By the way, if you
could catch Martin smiling to-night, and Langridge in tears, it would
help your report. You appear to bring out the salient features of a
handsome face, even if you accentuate them. Martin's teeth and
Langridge's nose are striking objects. Let us have them for to-morrow."

Desmond returned to his type-writing with a sigh of satisfaction. In
this meeting he saw a road to promotion.

Meeting Molly Healy on his way to luncheon, he paused to make her sharer
in his good fortune, for Molly and he had always been good comrades.

Molly was in a tearing hurry at that moment. One of her dogs had
strayed, and she was beating the town to find him; but she paused to
listen to his tale.

"Going to the meeting! Is it to speak?" she asked.

"No," he replied contemptuously, "to report what the beggars say."

"Just to write down the words of a lot of windbags. That's nothing! If I
were Ebenezer Brown, you would be in Mr. Cairns' place. But, good luck
to you, Desmond. I will set all the old women praying for you. Some day
you will be owning a paper yourself, if I can help you."

"Thank you, Molly," he cried.

The girl cast a wistful glance after him as he left her, for no one
admired Desmond O'Connor more than she. But the vision of a black dog
vanishing around a distant corner caused her to start in a hurried
pursuit. Round the corner she ran, straight into the arms of Constable
McSherry, who was coming sedately along the footpath in an opposite
direction to her own.

"What would my wife say if she saw this?" he asked, as she cannoned into
him; "a young lady running into my arms?"

"Don't be talking nonsense," she replied, laughingly. "Did you see a
dog?"

"It's nothing but dogs," he answered. "Which was the one you were
after?"

"A black-and-tan collie with a blue-ribbon round his neck, and a saucy
look on his face."

"A blue ribbon around his neck? It wouldn't be the one I saw going into
the public-house, then?"

The constable paused to consider, while Molly suddenly whirled down the
street and pounced on the errant collie. Seeing this, Constable McSherry