in them as a guest,
which would be a more polite way to put it. They were willing to give
twenty-five or thirty dollars; but they felt a delicacy in making such a
proposition to an editor.

At any rate, Paul called at the office. After climbing a crazy flight of
stairs on the outside of a little rheumatic looking frame building, he
found the editor seated on a stool at a case of type, setting up some
matter for his next week's issue. Boyton introduced himself.

"Well, I'll be doggoned, Paul," exclaimed the editor, jumping from the
stool, "I'm almighty glad to see you," enthusiastically shaking his
hand, "where in thunder are you swimming to now?"

"Oh, I'm just going up the river on a pleasure trip, with a friend of
mine, on a little steamer."

"Is that so. Well, I'm glad to meet you any way. I'll make a note about
it next week."

"Yes, we are having a little pleasure excursion; hunting, fishing, and
all that sort of thing and we thought you might enjoy a trip with us a
little way."

A cunning gleam shot through the editor's eagle eye, as he replied:

"Um, I guess you want me to pilot you up, don't you?"

"Well, yes. If you want to put it that way. You might assist our regular
pilot if you felt so disposed. I can assure you a good time. Plenty of
everything on board."

"I'll be doggoned if I wouldn't like to go up, Paul; but don't see how I
can do it. In fact it's impossible. You see I couldn't get out my
paper next week. Have to disappoint all my subscribers and you know that
would hardly be right."

"We would have a good time," persisted Boyton, "you could take a little
vacation, you know, and you might get some one to put out the paper for
you."

"Couldn't do it. There aint a man between here and Chicago that could
get out this paper. No sir. If I went, I'd have to disappoint all my
subscrib--"

"Well, what will you take to pilot us up?" interrupted Paul in
desperation, willing to offer fifty dollars if there was a chance.

"You see I would have to disappoint all my subscribers and then the
advertisers would kick and want to knock off on their bills. Taking
all those things into consideration, I don't see how I could go up for
less than three dollars."

Of course he was taken along and luxuriously entertained as well as paid
the three dollars. The week following the editor's return, his paper
contained an item to the effect that "owing to illness in his family,
the editor was c