Evening star., 1935-02-03

S$<SSS
4 AM indebted to Lafferty for most Of
this; Lafferty, the assistant night
city editor. He was in the office the
night that Bill McDade underwent
his baptism of remorse.
It happened long time ago on hot
Summer night when neither air nor news
was stirring. Ten years ago tonight, to
be exact.
To understand how the thing could
have happened one must know McDade,
Lafferty explained. McDade, he said.
was young and good-looking and as bril-
liant as he was courageous. The kind
of fellow who would face firing squad
and calmly jot notes upon his cuff while
the executioners aimed their weapons.
In those days the general assignment
men on the Morning Call were paid on
space rates. McDade was space writer
and he let his imagination carry him
away sometimes, according to Lafferty.
His nimble mind and long, lean fingers
would convert bonfire into a conflagra-
tion and riot into civil war.
But that's the trouble with space
writing. It always did encourage pad
ding, to the point, at times, when you
couldn't tell fact from fiction. But
McDade got away with 1t because he
wrote so very convincingly. Lafferty
told me the reporter actually seemed to
believe much of the nonsense he wrote.
At least, he believed it while he was
pounding it out.
I'M THAT night 10 years ago Bill
McDade sat at his typewriter pluck
Ing away industriously. The rest of the
staff was in misery, but McDade was
oblivious to the suffocating atmosphere
pressing downward like q heavy pail.
He must have been writing something
that grazed his sense Of humor. A VIII
famous briar was clamped between his
teeth. but his lips were twisted into a
half grin. ,-.,.
Whatever 1T was he had been writing,
McDade stopped at once when ogden.
who was night city editor then, called
his name. With the grin still on his
face he walked up to the city desk.
"Just got tip from the ianitor up at
the Arcadian Apartments" said Ogden.
He swung around on his swivel. Believe
it's exclusive. Some young artist woman
took fool notion to fall OF third-story
balcony and get killed. Don't know
whether it's suicide or an accident"
He drew a soiled handkerchief from
his pocket and began mopping the sweat
from his forehead. "Hell!" he muttered
peevishly, "if it's as hot up there as it is
here, don't blame her for wanting to
go to nice cool grave. Get up there !,
as fast as you can. The other papers
may not get much in time for the city
edition. Get back in time to write it.
and give it all you can. Swipe picture
II you can get In the apartment"
In an instant ogden was busy with
the proofs on his desk. He failed to see
what Lafferty saw. Lafferty was at the
switchboard behind Ogden He saw
McDade wilt suddenly, as If the heat had
got him all at once, and the grin had
vanished like magic from his lips.
Then some district reporter on the
phone was clamoring for attention,
When Lafferty finally looked up from
the plugs McDade had gone.
No one knew Just when Bill McDade
returned from his assignment. Lafferty
said he'd been out of the room himself
for an hour or SO, and the rewrite men
were busy on deadline stuff. You can
set OH bomb under a busy newspaper
mans desk and he'll not stop writing
long enough to explode; not when he's
doing rush copy.
The first intimation any one had of
McDade'S return uas u,I,on T oeor+~,