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story for the Picayune. He is a thin
spare, young, black-haired fellow, claims a
Southern origin but looks Irish and his
breath stinks horribly. Second week of this
fine acquisition copy was wanting, of course.
I suggested to Cahill should continue the
story, which he did, scribbling off a chapter in
my room, nocturnally. Since this he has become
pretty familiar with Gun who is a very good-
natured fellow, and for the last couple of
months, has dropped spreeing. Cahill has
a pretty sharp lesson this time, but it won�t
change his character. His small lyings hint that
he has commenced a course of minor O�Brienisms.
You can�t help a man on this sort; he�s too
weak to stick together. My suspicion as to his
affair with the wet nurse of Mort Thomson�s
has become surety; indirectly he let out the
truth himself, putting two or three circumstances
together, it became absolute verity. He�s afraid
that the Thomson�s have discovered it. There�s
a spice of suspicion that he has babbled to the Thom-
sons of the Edwards� dislike to Fanny Fern
to whom it would be immediately conveyed, of
course, by Mort�s mother, who toadies Fanny.
This and a letter from Jim Parton�s sister, which
Fanny found in her husband�s pocket and read,
are the foundation for a late characteristic Led-