chapter 178 part 2
"Where's the boss?"
At the Messenger Newspaper, Little John handed a thick stack of reader mail to the workers, then glanced at Colin's empty desk and asked Jacob, who was beside him.
He hadn't seen Mr. Colin in the office for almost a week.
"The warehouse."
Picking up a blue paintbrush to carefully color Superman in the comic manuscript, Jacob answered Little John's question without even looking up.
For some reason, Colin had suddenly become interested in the old rotary printing press left at the newspaper office.
With the purchase of a color rotary printing press, the office's original black-and-white press had been gradually phased out.
Originally, Old John had intended to sell it, but during The Great Depression, selling things was much harder than buying them. Therefore, after a few unsuccessful attempts at haggling, Old John abandoned any plans of selling the rotary press and tossed it into a corner of the warehouse.
Initially, this was a very ordinary matter.
However, when Colin suddenly took an interest in this machine, it became anything but ordinary.
*Clang clang clang—*
*Thump thump thump—*
In front of the typesetting machine, Old John pressed the keyboard, his ears occasionally filled with the sound of mechanical banging.
This noise had been going on for nearly a week. Anyone else would have complained long ago, but considering the source of the noise was their boss, the owner of the newspaper, Old John and the others could only silently endure the disturbance.
"So, what do you think the boss is planning to do?"
Tilting his head, Little John listened for a moment to the clanging sounds coming from the warehouse and couldn't help but ask Jacob.
"No idea."
Twirling the paintbrush in his hand, Jacob added color to Superman's arm on the comic manuscript, then glanced in the direction of the warehouse, shrugged, and replied.
"Maybe he wants to build something."
Although everyone at the newspaper was curious about Colin's sudden behavior, they didn't dare to disturb him.
"So, what could it be?"
Jacob's answer, rather than diminishing Little John's curiosity, actually amplified it.
It wasn't that he hadn't snuck into the warehouse to watch Colin work. The last time he went, he only saw the boss dismantling the rotary printing press. Looking at the parts scattered all over the floor, Little John had no confidence he could put them back together again.
Moreover, after Old John found out, he strictly forbade him from disturbing the boss again.
From that day on, Little John never went to the warehouse again.
"A super robot, just like in the Superman comic."
Hearing this, Jacob made a rare joke.
But, apparently, the joke wasn't the least bit funny; even Little John didn't react much.
Seeing that his humor had fallen flat, Jacob shrugged and returned his attention to his work. Switching to a red paintbrush to outline the 'S' symbol on Superman's chest, he said, "Whatever it is, we'll find out eventually, unless..."
Unless the creation fails.
Jacob didn't say the last part of his sentence out loud. After all, if it failed, Colin would definitely not be in a good mood, and Jacob didn't want to be the one to bear the brunt of the boss's foul mood. He had just managed to refuse the 'vacation' his boss offered him; if he made him unhappy again...
Jacob felt he might be asked to take another vacation.
He liked his current job, especially since his new comic had begun its serialization in Messenger Comics. His life as a comic artist was just beginning.
"You have a point."
Nodding, Little John clearly accepted Jacob's reasoning.
He sat back down in his seat. Although his attention was still periodically drawn to the sounds coming from the warehouse, under Old John's watchful eye, he had no choice but to focus on the work at hand.
During this period, with the broadcast of the CBS Radio Drama, Superman's popularity had soared.
It was said that even the rebroadcast of *The Adventures of Superman* had the highest audience rating in its radio time slot. The love for Superman from readers and listeners was no longer confined to New York; many cities that could receive the radio drama were swept up in a 'Superman fever'.
"Truth, Justice, and the American Way!"
This phrase, in particular, had become a slogan passed by word of mouth all across America.
Even Roosevelt, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, used the phrase as part of his public speeches.
Although, Little John didn't think there was anything particularly great about the American Way.
Didn't Hoover use the American Way? Yet his American Way had brought everyone the worst possible outcome.
So, the key wasn't the American Way, but the person using it.
Superman was the real answer. If the American Way spoken of by Superman promised a beautiful future, then Hoover represented a terrible reality.
*Clang—*
At the Messenger Newspaper, just as Little John's mind was wandering, the sound from the warehouse suddenly quieted down, accompanied by the final whir of a machine's turning axle, before finally falling silent.
"The noise is gone, which means?"
The week-long 'noise' had suddenly vanished, and everyone, including Little John, felt a little uncustomed to the quiet.
Old John even felt like he could still hear a faint clanging sound. He shook his head and realized it was just his imagination.
"Is it finished, or..."
The silence from the warehouse meant that Colin's modifications to the rotary press were complete.
But as for the result of these modifications, no one at the newspaper could say for sure. With a mixture of trepidation and curiosity, they all turned their gazes toward the newspaper's warehouse.
And under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a few minutes later, Colin's figure appeared there.
"Everyone, put down your work. I have something to show you."
Dressed in simple work overalls with the cuffs rolled up, Colin's gaze swept over everyone at the newspaper as he spoke.
(end of chapter)