Larry was in such a hurry to get to the office with the copy, for he had been delayed some time, that he did not look at the card the elderly gentleman had given him until some time later, when he had explained the news to Mr. Emberg. The city editor sent a reporter to get the story from the police station.  
“Who was the man whose watch they took?” asked Mr. Emberg.
 
“I forgot to look,” replied Larry, pulling out the card and reading it. “He—was Dr. James Carrolton,” he added.
 
“What?” cried Mr. Emberg.
 
Larry repeated his remark.
 
“Say, this is a big story!” exclaimed the city editor. “We must have a display on this. Dr. Carrolton robbed the second day he is in New York.”
 
He hurried to the telephone, to call up the police station where he had sent the reporter, and, getting him on the wire, held a hurried conversation with him.
 
190 “You’re always stumbling on big stories,” said the city editor, coming back to where Larry stood, wondering what it was all about.
 
“How do you mean?”
 
“Don’t you know who Dr. Carrolton is?”
 
Then a light dawned on Larry.
 
“Why—why,” the boy began, “he’s the great English surgeon on hip and spine diseases that we’ve had so many stories about, and he came over here to cure a millionaire’s daughter.”
 
“Of course,” said Mr. Emberg with a laugh. “I think it will be a good thing for you, also.”
 
“How?”
 
“Well, Dr. Carrolton is not only noted for his skill as a surgeon, but he is one of the most liberal men in the world. He appreciates whatever is done for him. The way you saved his watch from being stolen——”
 
“I didn’t do that for pay!” exclaimed Larry.
 
“Of course not,” resumed the city editor. “He knows you didn’t. But that need not stop him from rewarding you. You’re a lucky boy. He may give you a hundred dollars.”
 
“I don’t want it,” spoke Larry suddenly.
 
“What’s that! Let me tell you, a hundred dollars is not to be sneezed at.”
 
“I’d rather he’d cure my sister,” said the boy.
 
“Your sister?”
 
“Yes, she has a spine disease, just like some of those persons Dr. Carrolton has cured.”
 
191 “Perhaps he will cure her,” said Mr. Emberg. “Only if he does it will be worth several thousand dollars, for he charges big fees.”
 
“If I had the money no fee would be too big if my sister could be cured,” said Larry, blinking to keep back the tears.
 
“If you get a chance, speak to him about it,” said Mr. Emberg. “Great men are apt to overlook little things like a fee.”
 
“Shall I go to the police station now?” asked Larry, as he remembered that the physician had told him to be present.
 
“Perhaps you had better,” said the city editor. “Don’t be afraid to speak up, and tell what you know about the case.”
 
But there was no need of Larry’s testimony. The police magistrate, after hearing the story of the officer and the physician, decided to hold the prisoner for the grand jury. Larry, who was on hand, was told to be at the courthouse when he was sent for. So he did not have to give any testimony.
 
As he was passing out of the courtroom with a number of other persons, Larry was spied by Dr. Carrolton.
 
“Hi, boy!” the physician exclaimed. “Don’t forget to come and see me. That was a valuable watch you saved for me!”
 
“I’ll come,” promised Larry, anxious to escape from the gathering crowd.
 
192 Larry watched the famous physician enter a big automobile and dart up the street in the care of several friends who had come to court, as soon as they heard the news of his plight. Then the boy left the police station and made his way home, as there was no further need of his services at the newspaper office that afternoon.
 
“I wonder if I could get him to doctor Lucy,” thought Larry. “If I could, and she should be cured, I’d be the happiest boy in New York. If I get a chance I’ll surely speak to Dr. Carrolton about it.”
 
When Larry got home that evening he found his mother in much distress. She had just been out to the store to make a few purchases, and, returning, still had her hat on.
 
“What’s the matter?” asked Larry, as he saw by his mother’s face that something was wrong.
 
“The groceryman said I had tried to pass bad money on him!” exclaimed Mrs. Dexter.
 
“What kind?” asked Larry.
 
“A half-dollar.”
 
“Tell me a............