 She was a short, stocky woman in her early 30s. She had a fresh-looking face and fiery red hair. She didn't strike me as the kind of reporter who'd make a bad mistake. I did it the way any cub would have, only worse. I had a 3 o'clock deadline. I wanted to make it. I could have waited till the skipper came to, said Perling wasn't aboard. I could have contacted Perling's hotel, found out he was safe through there. I didn't do any of that. I just phoned in my story. You know the rest. Every wire service in the country picked it up.