Page:Elizabeth Jordan--Tales of the city room.djvu/60

 continued, "'cos you laughed at my other ones so. If you come on it among some other things I thought maybe you'd say something about it without knowing it was mine. But after what I heard you say I had to come to you and tell you."

He stopped for breath. The editor looked at him keenly and then said with terrible impressiveness,—

"Well, James, you seem to have got yourself into a nice mess."

Chesterfield's heart sank. He did n't like the editor's tone, and in his darkest imaginings it had not occurred to him that he would be called "James" by the young man who had always been so kind to him. He looked up at Mr. Kelly with something in his eyes that touched that journalistic genius.

"I suppose, Chesterfield," he said more lightly, "that you claim to be the proud author of all 'The Funmaker's' jokes roasting The 'Searchlight.'"

"Oh, no, sir. 'Deed I don't," said Chesterfield, refuting this charge with vigor. "I would n't write them things against the paper. I did n't think this one was so—"