That's where Wine
Creek comes from. Everyone knows that. Little old
Wine Creek brought us the news. That's interesting.
I laughed. I thought I'd tell you--it's interesting,
eh?"
Joe Welling turned and went out at the door. Tak-
ing a book from his pocket, he stopped and ran a
finger down one of the pages. Again he was ab-
sorbed in his duties as agent of the Standard Oil
Company. "Hern's Grocery will be getting low on
coal oil. I'll see them," he muttered, hurrying along
the street, and bowing politely to the right and left
at the people walking past.
When George Willard went to work for the Wines-
burg Eagle he was besieged by Joe Welling. Joe en-
vied the boy. It seemed to him that he was meant
by Nature to be a reporter on a newspaper. "It is
what I should be doing, there is no doubt of that,"
he declared, stopping George Willard on the side-
walk before Daugherty's Feed Store. His eyes began
to glisten and his forefinger to tremble. "Of course
I make more money with the Standard Oil Company
and I'm only telling you," he added. "I've got noth-
ing against you but I should have your place. I could
do the work at odd moments. Here and there I
would run finding out things you'll never see."
Becoming more excited Joe Welling crowded the
young reporter against the front of the feed store.
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