Tales of the City Room

ge was but twelve. His light hair clung to his head in such relentlessly tight little curls that his facetious associates pointed to this strain on his scalp as the explanation of the frequent headaches from which he suffered. His round young face bore several large and obtrusive freckles, and his clothes were palpably a legacy from some one of more stalwart frame than himself. But his wide-open blue eyes were clear and honest, and the charm of his manner was recognized and commented upon even by the embittered visitors who awaited the editor's pleasure in the small anteroom over which James held sway. At the little desk in this room the boy presided with a dignity far beyond his years. He listened with polite interest to the almost endless tales of woe poured into his ears by the motley throng of men and women with whom he came in contact. He made copious notes of alleged " news tips " brought in by excited citizens, and saw to it that these notes did not obstruct the desk of the city editor. With unfailing courtesy he stood between the staff and the bores that besieged the citadel wherein they worked. With genuine sympathy he received the subjects of " The Searchlight's" various charity funds and turned them over to the person who had such matters in charge. It was Colonel Everson, one of the leading editorial writers, who dubbed him " Chesterfield, Jr.," and the name was so appropriate that the entire staff adopted it on the instant and rechristened the boy w... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.