Ghost Beyond the Gate Part 15

"This is my father's plant."

"Which doesn't necessarily make you the editor or the owner, Miss Penelope Parker. You're a minor as well as a nuisance. If your father proves to be dead, the court will step in--"

"Get out!" cried Penny, fighting to keep back the tears. "You don't care about Dad, or anything but your own selfish interests!"

"Now you're hysterical."

Penny's anger subsided, to be replaced by a cool determination that Harley Schirr should not remain in charge of the _Star_ another hour.

"I meant just what I said," she told him quietly. "Please go."

Schirr smiled grimly. Seating himself at the desk, his eyes challenged hers.

"I remain as editor here," he announced. "If you wish to contest my right, take your case to court. In the meantime, keep out of my private office."

CHAPTER 10 _TALE OF A GHOST_

Beaten and close to tears, Penny stumbled out of Harley Schirr's office.

As she paused just beyond the closed door, every eye in the newsroom focused upon her. Salt Sommers, camera box slung over his shoulder, went over and spoke to her.

"Penny, we all heard that row. If you say the word, we'll walk out of here in a body."

Penny smiled, touched by the expression of loyalty. "That would do no good," she replied. "Thanks just the same."

"We're through taking orders from Schirr!" Salt went on. "He always has been a pain in the neck, and now that he has authority, there's no holding him down. How about it, boys?"

A chorus of approval greeted his words. One of the reporters picked up a paper weight and would have hurled it against the closed door, had not another restrained him.

"I'm sure Dad would want everyone to carry on," Penny said quietly. "The paper must be published the same as always."

"We could do our work and do it well, if Schirr would just leave us alone," growled one of the copy readers.

"That's right!" added another. "Why don't you take over, Penny?"

"Mr. Schirr just reminded me that I'm not the editor. I know nothing about running a newspaper."

"How about the time you ran the High School weekly?" Salt reminded her.

"Why, you did a bang up job of it, and uncovered _The Secret Pact_ story to boot! Don't try to tell us you don't know how to run a newspaper!"

"A weekly high school sheet and the _Star_ are two different propositions."

"But your father has a fine organization here," Salt argued. "If Schirr can be kept from breaking it up, everything will go along. The boys all know their jobs."

Penny's eyes began to sparkle. But she said: "I don't see how I could take over, much as I would like to do it. Schirr has staked out rights in Dad's office and nothing will move him short of a court order."

"You don't need a fancy office to run a paper," Salt grinned. "We'll just take our orders from you. Schirr can sit until he's had enough of it."

Penny gazed at the eager, loyal faces about her. Nearly all of the men were old employees, personally trained by her father and Mr. DeWitt. She knew she could depend on them.

"We'll do it!" she exclaimed suddenly. "As your new editor, I wish to issue my first order. Please, let's not publish any more sensational stories about Dad's disappearance."

"Okay Chief," grinned one of the desk men. "That suits us all fine."

Penny was given a seat of honor at the slot of the circular copy desk.

There she was able to read and pa.s.s upon every story which flowed from the typewriters of the various reporters. With the courteous help of one of the deskmen, she remade the front page of the noon edition. A particularly sensational story about Mr. Parker, prepared earlier in the day, was promptly "busted."

Penny found her new duties exacting, but surprisingly easy. Over the years it was astonishing how much she had learned about the workings of a newspaper plant. At different times she had served as reporter, society editor and special feature writer. As for the editorial policy of the _Star_, she was thoroughly familiar with it, for her father frequently aired his views at home.

Shortly after the noon edition rolled from the press, the buzzer in Mr.

Schirr's office sounded. Mr. Parker's private secretary did not answer.

The buzzer kept on for nearly five minutes. Then the door was flung open.

"What the blazes is the matter with everyone?" Schirr shouted.

His gaze fastened upon Penny at the copy desk.

"Meet our new editor, Mr. Schirr," said Salt, who had that moment come out of the camera room.

Schirr ignored Penny. s.n.a.t.c.hing up one of the noon editions, still fresh with wet ink, he glanced at the front page. His eyes flashed.

"Eckert," he said to the head copy man, "come into my office. I want to talk to you."

"Oh, sure," said Eckert, but he did not follow Schirr into the adjoining room.

Soon the ex-editor came storming out to learn what was wrong. This time his expression was baffled.

"Mr. Eckert," he said with exaggerated politeness. "Will you please step into my office?"

"Sorry," replied the copy reader. "You may as well know right now that you're not giving the orders around here!"

"We'll see about that!" cried Schirr.

Darting to one of the speaking tubes, he called the foreman of the press room.

"Schirr talking!" he said curtly. "Stop the presses! Kill that noon edition! We're making over the front page!"

"Can't hear you," was the reply, for word had been pa.s.sed to the men in the pressroom. "Louder!"

Schirr shouted until he was nearly hoa.r.s.e. Then suddenly conscious that he was making a spectacle of himself, he slammed into his office. A minute later he reappeared, hat jammed low over his eyes.

"This is a very clever scheme, Miss Parker," he said, facing her. "Well, it won't work. I'm leaving, but I'll be back. With a lawyer!"

He strode from the newsroom, banging the door so hard the gla.s.s rattled.

"Don't worry about that egg," Salt advised Penny. "He's mostly bluff."