“Yes, the old man’s been going to pieces fast since he closed his newspaper plant. Looks seedy, doesn’t he?”
“His clothes were a bit shiny. I thought he seemed rather embarrassed because you spoke to him.”
“Old Judson feels his come-down I guess. In the flush days he wouldn’t be caught dead in a beanery.”
“Is he really poor, Jerry?”
“Probably down to his last hundred thousand,” the reporter grinned.
“What you say is conflicting,” declared Penny impatiently. “First you imply that Mr. Judson is poor, and then that he’s rich. I wish you would make up your mind.”
“Frankly, I don’t know. Judson owns a fine home on Drexell Boulevard which he’s allowed to run down. I’ve been told he sold the Morning Press building several months ago. Some say he has plenty of cash salted away, others that he’s broke.”
“How did he lose so much of his money, Jerry?”
“No one seems to know for certain. According to rumor he plays the stock market heavily.”
“It’s strange he closed down the Morning Press,” Penny remarked thoughtfully. “I always thought it was a profitable paper.”