Very Short Summary
A morning newspaper lay on Giuseppi's newsstand, containing three editorials: one against corporal punishment, another warning a labor leader about a strike, and a third supporting the police force. The paper also included advice columns and a personal note from a penitent woman to someone named Jack.
The newspaper's journey began when a young man picked it up, lost it with his gloves, and returned to find it - only to meet his love interest at the arranged meeting spot from the personal ad. The wind then blew the paper away, causing a horse to spook and a buggy to crash.
And there was one who made herself a pillow for his head, and cared for no curious eyes, bending over and saying, 'Oh, it was you; it was you all the time, Bobby! Couldn't you see it?'
The paper continued its journey: a policeman read its support for law enforcement while secretly accepting a drink, a girl used its pages to imitate the sound of silk rustling beneath her skirt, and the labor leader became distracted by a puzzle in the paper, leading to the strike's peaceful resolution through arbitration. Finally, a schoolboy used the paper's pages to protect himself from corporal punishment, demonstrating the paper's influence on multiple lives.
Detailed Summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The Morning Paper and Its Contents
Early one morning, a newspaper lay on a news-stand, still damp from the presses.
This particular newspaper was, according to its custom and design, an educator, a guide, a monitor, a champion and a household counsellor and vade mecum.
The paper contained three significant editorials: one against corporal punishment for children, another warning a notorious labor leader about an impending strike, and a third supporting the police force. Additionally, it featured advice columns, including guidance for a young man seeking love and beauty tips for a young woman. Among its contents was also a brief personal advertisement from someone named Penitent, seeking forgiveness from Jack.
At eight o'clock, a young man with a haggard appearance picked up the newspaper from Giuseppi's stand.
The Paper's Journey Through the City
After visiting his barber, Jack dropped the newspaper along with his new gloves. When he returned to retrieve them, he found something more valuable - the woman who had written the personal advertisement.
He was holding two little hands as tightly as ever he could and looking into two penitent brown eyes, while joy rioted in his heart. 'Dear Jack,' she said, 'I knew you would be here on time.'
A strong wind carried the abandoned newspaper down a side street, where it startled a horse pulling a buggy.
The horse bolted, causing an accident that threw Bobby in front of a brownstone mansion. Inside, he found the very woman he had written to the heart-to-heart editor about, who now tended to his injuries with loving care.
The newspaper's journey continued as it was picked up by a police officer near the Shandon Bells Cafe.
Behind the widespread, amicable columns of the press Policeman O'Brine receives swiftly his nip of the real stuff. He moves away, stalwart, refreshed, fortified, to his duties.
The Paper's Final Impact
O'Brine gave the newspaper to a passing boy who took it home to his sister.
Gladys used pages from the newspaper to create the sound of silk rustling beneath her skirt. When she walked past a neighbor, the effect was convincing.
Gladys proceeded toward the avenue. Her eyes now sparkled like jagerfonteins. A rosy bloom visited her cheeks; a triumphant, subtle, vivifying, smile transfigured her face. She was beautiful.
The remaining pages of the newspaper found their way to Gladys and Johnny's father, a labor leader who had been warned about a strike in one of the paper's editorials.
Three hours later, after waiting vainly for him at the appointed place, other more conservative leaders declared and ruled in favour of arbitration, and the strike with its attendant dangers was averted.
Johnny, who had been having trouble at his private school, used the remaining pages of the newspaper to protect himself from punishment, while the editorial against corporal punishment may have influenced his teacher's actions.
Johnny attended a private school and had had trouble with his teacher. As has been said, there was an excellent editorial against corporal punishment in that morning's issue, and no doubt it had its effect.