An old friend of mine, a huge Lardner fan, was trying to remember a short story by Lardner he read that was recounted, I think, by the moll of a gangster who had been shot and was evidently on his last legs. She hawked him round among "friends", but nobody was willing to take him in. Finally he expired, leaving, as it turned out, a considerable inheritance to the moll.

Can anyone help me with the title of that story?

Thanks,
Walt Jones

I must plead ignorance. Is there a direct relationship between Lardner and Bradbury?

Now I am curious. Who is this Lardner? Can you give his/her full name? I want to look for this story/novel. Thanks.

You're probably referring to Ring Lardner, a great American humourist writer of the early 20th century.
He's probably best known for "Alibi Ike".
I've read quite a few of his short stories - this one sound familiar, but I can't recall the title.
Here's a good site: http://www.tridget.com/lardnermania/

I checked that website and found nothing. Does anyone here remember the name of this story? Hey Braling, is it a short story or a novel?

I don't think Ring Lardner wrote any novels.
He did write columns, short stories, plays, and even songs.
"Alibi Ike" is one of his Baseball Stories.
If you'd like to know more, here's a site: http://www.tridget.com/lardnermania/
I highly recommend the old recording of a few of his stories read by Henry Morgan (another great name from the past)available at some libraries.

The person that wrote the novels, was Ring Lardner ...with the jr. at the end of his name. Pops didn't.

Listen to: http://www.wiredforbooks.org/ringlardnerjr/

Why, the young upstart!

Hey Macandal,

I noticed your name. Where did you get it from?

The reason why I am asking is because Macandal was the name of a signifigent Voodoo cult leader during the Haitian revolution. He was captured by French authorities, and brought to Port au Prince to be burned at the stake. He had broken his bonds, and leaped into a crowd of his followers.

I got my name from "The Kingdom of This World" by Alejo Carpentier. Macandal (the name is spelled differently, I changed mine to its current estate, I believe it is Makandal) is a prominent figure in the novel along with Tinoel. Now, do you know the name of the Lardner story?

You could try the Abebooks forums at http://forums.abebooks.com/abecom/start/ where they have a lot of helpful expert librarians.