"Where'd you get that paper?" asked Joe Duncan, as he accepted the sheet his companion, Blake Stewart, passed over.
"It came in the mail, but I didn't take it out of the wrapper until a second ago. It's yesterday's. Some news that; eh?"
"It sure is," and as Joe began to read, Blake looked over his shoulder, murmuring such expressions as: "Worst flood in years! Many houses swept away! Toll of lives will be heavy! Many deeds of heroism! Mississippi on great rampage!"
What Blake gave expression to was merely quoted from some of the lines in the heading of the article that had so excited him and his chum. It was a telegraphed story of a big flood on the Mississippi, which, the article stated, was higher than it had been in years, while unusually heavy spring rains had added to the terrors of the rising waters.
"That sure is some flood!" murmured Joe, as he reached the bottom of the newspaper page, and turned the sheet over. "Hello!" he cried. "They've got some pictures of it, too!"
Almost all of the second page was taken up with half-tone cuts of scenes in the flooded districts. There were views of overturned houses being swept down a turbulent stream, pictures of half-demolished buildings, jammed together into