The Washington times., 1894-05-13
THE "OLD MANS" scooP.

The "old man" was looking gloomier than
usual, which is saying good deal. No one
ever cared to approach him except for orders,
or dared to address him but for instructions.
Not another paper in town was made to par
take so fully the characteristics OF its propri-
etor as his, none was more highly regarded,
and no other proprietor was SO cordially
hated. He ruled with hand Of iron, and
the public could not overlook his ability,
though they despised him. Up in his solitary
home 1t was said that he had all Of the luxu-
ries and comforts Of life that wealth would
procure, but that 1t gave him no pleasure be-
yond the rather dubious enjoyment OF its ac-
cumuiation. He lived alone, and took his
meals at a neighboring boarding house.
There had been every promise OF at least
three distinct scoops; but two OF them had
already proven ''fakes," and the least prom
ising OF the three only remained to be heard
from; so all OF us were slightly out Of temper
as we waited for Charlie to bring in the for
lorn hope When he came we saw by his
countenance that it was no go either.
.'Only an attempt of desperate convict to
escape from the penitentiary." he said, throw
ing down his notes. 1.-THE guards shot him
finally, after hard struggle, and he Is now
in the morgue. Good for two or three stick
fuls, perhaps"
The "old man. was reading his "copy," "
while l watched his eye to read, If possible,
his estimate of the story. might as well
haye gone down into the basement and
watched the ink keg. 1t was not less ex-
pressive.
sThat is all for tonight, boys" he said,
finally, and We went out and to bed.
l was surprised on looking over the morn
ing paper to see that Charles story occupied
nearly two columns, and the first sentence
convinced me that Charlie never wrote that.
The 'old man" had gone over 1t all himself,
had ''spread himself.'' in fact, and produced
a story Of crime and sorrow such as even he
had never written before. The actual lights
and shadows OF a life were there. and II
seemed as II he must have poured his own
life into 1t to reproduce them as he had.
All! what was this? A scoop at the last:
at has transpired that the unfortunate
young convict whose brilliant career was cut
off by his crime, and whose criminal record
paid the final Tenalty to an outraged law
yesterday, is the son OF newspaper man OF
this city; that the father, driven by the remem-
brance OF this crime, to avoid the public with
which his own career as an editor has been
identified, has soaced himself in collecting in
his lonely apartments all of the luxuries that
money could procure, hoping thereby to pro-
vide q haven In which his erring son, when
released, would be content to rest. The eevents
OF yesterday cut TINS nope Oh, anu pfoken-
hearted. the old man In the privacy of his
office poured out upon the recording sheet
the pent-up bitterness Of a lifetime and then
ended the farce with his own hand"
l hurried to the office, confident Of what l
would find, but hoping against hope. Sew
eral Of my mates had forestalled me. The
door to the old mans room stood open, as the
officers had left it when they broke it in. A
stain of blood told where he had fallen. but
all that was left of him was lying in the
morgue beside the boy whose discharge from
prison he had been all these years preparing
for Hardly feature OF his face WAS changed,
but the lines we had SO long regarded as
marks of his tyranny now softened away into
fnrrows of care and sorrow and cancelled in
the fading glory OF a newly revealed life. so
tragically ended, every memory Of sternness
and harsh words-Wilder Grahame in the
Literary Weekly