from men near by, and she was delighted that Dane as well as Mac drank to her in return. This incident warmed her up to such an extent that she felt better.
Soon after she got back to the office she felt the ominous return of her headache. Jimmy had been waiting on the steps for her. She could never get ahead of him. He liked to watch her coming, to flourish his cap at her, to take the key and open the door and stand by for her as if she were a queen. He did it all with a twinkle in his eye as if he enjoyed being romantic.
Soon after he and Valerie had settled down to the proof-reading Ryder and Johnson came in and the jobbing machine began to shake the building.
Ryder came out again at a quarter past eight ready to go.
“You look a bit sick,” he said to Valerie.
“Yes, I have a headache.”
“Can’t you leave it?”
“No. We’ll be done with this by half-past eight. How much copy have you for the morning?”
“A column and a few sticks.”
“That all ? Well, I must have the leader and the meeting done to-night. I can manage it. That sporting copy of yours has helped a lot.”
Ten minutes after he had gone out she put down her pencil. “Now, Jimmy, nothing more. You get out of this at once.”
When she had got him out she held on to her head, feeling she could do nothing till the jobbing machine stopped. It went on till nine. Then Johnson came out hot and tired.
His intelligent brown eyes looked admiringly at her.
“I say, why don’t you knock off? You look as if you’d done enough for one day.”
