That method was not strenuous enough, so the long walk was started. It was up and down the corridor of the receiving ward, and out into the hall and the yard. Whenever the nurse became tired she sat down to rest for a moment; but as soon as the girl nodded the walk was resumed. All through the lonesome hours of the night this unique feat of pedestrianism was continued. Daylight appeared, and still the walk went on. Finally the clock struck six, and the two women were still walking. Shortly after that the house physician made his appearance, and giving the girl a careful examination, pronounced her out of danger. Then, and not until then, the nurse went to sleep, and even while Herbert was writing his picturesque story she was still sleeping the sleep of the just and the brave.
His story made over a column in the Argus. It proved to be a palpable hit. Blakeley, the city editor, who did not see it until he picked up the paper the next morning, gloated over it with the glee with which a miser examines a newly found diamond. He patted Herbert on the back and said that if he continued to turn in stories of that character his period of probation would be short indeed and his permanence on the paper assured.
But the best feature of the incident, to Herbert’s mind, came on Friday afternoon, when he called at the business office and received a check for $8 for his piece of special reporting. This gave him a total cash balance of $10 and enabled him to pay his board bill and to look forward with confidence to the coming of his regular pay-days.
CHAPTER XIV IN WHICH HERBERT IS GIVEN AN UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY TO DISTINGUISH HIMSELF
After he had been on the Argus for about a month, Herbert felt entirely at home. He managed to get along very smoothly with all the members of the staff. Blakeley, the city editor, was especially pleased with the new addition to his local force. He found that he was punctual, industrious and anxious to do his work to the very best of his ability. The other reporters at the same time looked on him as an agreeable fellow who was willing to do them a good turn whenever he had the chance to do so. At the end of his second month on the paper he was gratified at the receipt of an unsolicited increase in his salary. His particular friend on the Argus, Francis Tomlin, obtained a promotion at the same time; and the two young men put their heads together and decided to seek a pleasant room near the office. After a search that consumed nearly all the idle hours of a whole week, they finally obtained an apartment which had the added advantage of a neat and well kept bath-room. Herbert lost no time in removing his effects from the modest quarters which he had occupied since his first arrival in New York. The two young men were together very much, and the fact that they were employed at night and had many hours of leisure during the day gave them the chance of strolling about the city or seeking amusements together at a time when most other men were busily engaged in their trades and professions.