San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-06-25

The others were "space" men, re-
porters whose newneSs to the city or,
dissipated habits kept them off the
staff, but whose. services were more or
less in demand according to the amount
of work to- be done, and who
were to be paid by the space
or by the column, so far as
what they wrote was accepted Abe's
blue pencil was generally kept pretty
busy scoring their manuscript of any
unnecessary statement or superfuous
bit of rhetoric. Every blue pencil
mark was distinct saving to the Orb
office. The sixteen were gathered in
little knots about the room talking in
undertones. Theyformed strongly
contrasted group, alike in only one
thing-the index fingers and thumbs
of each were blaekened with the accu-
mulated dirt of innumerable lead-pen-
Gil sharpeuings. Some of them had
tried to wash the black off, others had
not In either case it stuck They
came from al quarters of the country,
but Southerners were in ma.
jority. There were "Tom" Jep.
nings, bright little Irishman,
with the blacklist of black eyes
and great rings under them; Abe's
assistant in biue-penciling the copy"
the staff handed in, educated for priest,
but given over to the world, flesh and
devil, yet good-hearted withal, gen.
eral favorite; Andrew Jackson Rey-
nolds, a Missouri back-country fire.
eater, who had failed In rural
journalism aud was now sending his
savings to the mother and sister he left
behind him when he started out for st.
Louis, whose jaws were always masti
eating tobacco quid, whose lips and
teeth were always consequently dirty
yellow, whose complexion was
mahogany sallow, whose eyes were
sleepy, whose clothes were always too
big for him, whose hat was invariably
a soft felt of widest brim. Charley
Marvin, a spruce, dapper, wide-awake
Chicagoan who wore glasses;
Philip Grey, an English university
graduate. whose father was a clergy
man, whose reading was wide, and
whose clothes were as seedy as
tramps. We shall S, p with Gray, for
he had the saddest history of all.
Rare powers had in him go"e to seed
with his clothes. The reporters had
picked him up literally out of the gut
Ter, where drink, the opium habit, and
every degrading vice practiced by man,
had brought him. He had been Sleep
ing in dry goods BOXES and under drays
and wagons when Tom" Jennings
ran against him and held out an Irish
mans generous hand to him, and in
terested the other reporters in his case.
So Gray was making one of his per-
iodical braces" and had not drank a
drop in two whole weeks. He
was boarding at reporters lodging
house on the credit his fellow craftsman
loaned him. He was hoping soon to
become a regular" His fate has
nothing to do with this story. Yet its
sadness comes over us as we write, and
let us set it down here. He became a
regular" and stayed regular" for
two weeks Then he missed an
Item" which the Conservative, the
Orb's rival, had column about-a sem
sational story of love and betrayal.
He feared discharge and went on an
old-time debauch and disappeared.
tom" Jennings one evening, who had
picked him up out of the gutter
for the last time, dropped into
the morgue and identified in an
unrecognized body, fshed out OF
the river, the battered, decom-
posed remains of what was once Grey.
One finger, pushed through hole in
the ragged shirt, with deaths unyield-
ing clutch was locked in curious
oriental ring, worn next his heart,
Philip" and "Amy" were interlaced
in elaborate tracery on the inside.
That was all. 1t was buried with him
in the grave for whose digging his
fellow-reporters paid.
We have wandered long way from
Paul Terry, who now walks in, nod
ding to the different groups. "Cack, :"
the editor-in-chief, is bending over
Abe's desk in earnest chat, so, though
the hands of the big clock-right under
the big gong which an electric spark
sends off with thunder claps whenever
the fire. alarm bell strikes-points to
1880, the assignments have not
been given out. Young Terry goes
straight to a file of the Orb, by
the side of which is file of the Con-
sentative, he takes out blue pencil
and marks with long line the articles
of his own which appear, putting his
number so" at the end. 'Cack" will
4l.o& Gle Tho