Free Novel Read

Under Orders: The story of a young reporter




  Produced by Giovanni Fini, Shaun Pinder and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive)

  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

  —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.

  —Bold text has been rendered as =bold text=.

  ”ANY THING GOING ON TO-NIGHT?” VAN CLEEF ASKED THE POLICESERGEANT. (_Page 44._)]

  UNDER ORDERS

  THE STORY OF A YOUNG REPORTER

  BY

  KIRK MUNROE

  AUTHOR OF “THE FLAMINGO FEATHER,” “DERRICK STERLING,” “DORYMATES,” “CAMPMATES,” ETC., ETC.

  ILLUSTRATED

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS NEW YORK LONDON 27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD ST. 27 KING WILLIAM ST., STRAND The Knickerbocker Press 1890

  COPYRIGHTED, 1890 BY KIRK MUNROE

  The Knickerbocker Press, New York Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by G. P. Putnam’s Sons

  TO JOHN BOGART

  FOR MANY YEARS CITY EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK “SUN”

  who, more than any other, helped me to obtain a literary foothold, whose honesty of purpose, strict sense of justice, and unswerving fidelity to duty uplifted him as an example of the ideal city editor, the dedication of this story of newspaper life is offered as a tribute of gratitude and affection by

  THE AUTHOR

  CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I.—THE CAPTAIN OF THE CREW RESIGNS 1

  II.—TRYING TO BECOME A REPORTER 16

  III.—THE OLD GENTLEMAN OF THE OXYGEN 32

  IV.—BEGINNING A NEW LIFE 49

  V.—THE KIND OF A FELLOW BILLINGS WAS 66

  VI.—A REPORTER AT HOME 81

  VII.—“NO LOAFERS NOR REPORTERS ADMITTED” 96

  VIII.—”LORD STEEREM,” THE COXSWAIN 111

  IX.—AN ACT OF FOLLY AND A CRUEL DISPATCH 125

  X.—MYLES MAKES A STARTLING DISCOVERY 141

  XI.—A FIGHT AND A MISTAKE 157

  XII.—MYLES FALLS INTO A TRAP 172

  XIII.—THE STRIKERS CAPTURE A TRAIN 186

  XIV.—A RACE AGAINST TIME 199

  XV.—THE 50TH REGIMENT, N. G. S. N. Y. 214

  XVI.—RECALLED AND DISMISSED 229

  XVII.—THE BEST SISTER IN THE WORLD 243

  XVIII.—WHO ROBBED THE SAFE? 260

  XIX.—REINSTATED AND ARRESTED 277

  XX.—COLLECTING EVIDENCE FOR THE DEFENCE 294

  XXI.—A DAY OF TRIAL 311

  XXII.—TRIUMPHANTLY ACQUITTED 329