The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-10
(. r y,

Flora Donovan wanted some one, whose
chief requisite was an ability to trip the
| light fantastic two-stcp, why not intro- 4
duce William j. Riddle the Pride of
| Mlnna. Street? 1t would he a good Joke
| on Flora, As for the murder OF Riddle
| subsequent career, that Would be easily
managed. 1t would be simply one-nlght
stand, and then back to the mug anu
| strop again. III VI Y
him. Browny said after he had
| thought all this out, 81 don't know put
I might manage to get you an invitation
some time. II! seq And he did,
| It took him about two weeks to- get 4
Two-step Willie into training for the
Friday Night Cotillon, and Browny had
| him round to his room coachng him on
III notnts and sundry. Flo recognized
I1Villies Mlnna Street Theory Of Dress.
| nd trimmed down some Of his Tar Flat
lidcnls OF free and easy department. BY
| Tightening up O. screw here. loosemng
Inilt there and oillng him up all over, he
succeeded ln5making Willie socially pre-
sentabla. The talky-talk part was easy.
4 barber meets a good many different
sorts OF people, and this one had rather
J smart and fetching line ofgab that would
|, fool any ordinary onlooker.S9
! So, ono Friday night Browny Iro.,eu
! out his new entry as Mr. VIII fldaie
4 and introduced him to Flora and the rest
of tho debutantes. mentioning sofnetn 9
| hazy about his being related to- The Rid
dies OF Philadelphia. Willie did actually
happen to have a second-coustn there.
You know, OF course, that in Fhiladel-
i phia there are Riddles and Riddles. 9I ,;1
i one was a plumber. . .
\ Mr. Riddle Of San Francisco then salied !
!, In. with his customary expectation OF
! easy victory. jauntly jollied Miss loono-
van and her 3O0-pound mamma, and tnen
i entered for two-step which Browny
i had taken good care to put In onsth .list
Of dances Willie was not disappointed.
He scored a gold ull's-eye. Then he
made good all along the line. for when
! it came to sitting out for a. corner chat
or heart-to-heart Irritation in the sup
4 per room he was perfectly able to- de-
4 liver tho goods. f HI
i 8S& Perhaps all clever and success ul men
\ make love In the same way; and no dotbt
4 what went with the salesladies OF. Min Ia
/ Street was only part OF tire Genera
i Girl Proposition He made a hit with
j Flora, at any rate. In fact, he did IT q
i good deal too we'll and too soon to- SUIT
\ Pierpoint Browning; and no doubt Flora
1 enjoyed playing off the handsome stran-
\ ger against her woud-be, on account OF
Il the SpaCHWIllCn uddI " ltuAlt' =
i She certainly was good to Willie.
Meanwhile Riddle had put In some fine
4 work with Flora's mother, Most people
4 had an idea that the mention OF life IN
4 Virginia City In the early sixties would
lbe considered indicate and In bad ttNte
4 by the Donovans. since their rise to So
4 cial emlncnce. but Willie was innocent.
i and butted right In with a remark about
i having lived In Virginia City himself,
4 'about7 tina time, and the old lady took
Thin into her heart straightway.4T The fact
4 was she loved to talk about old times,
i but Flora wouldn't let her. So 1t was
4 that Willie left the cotlllon with an invl-
/ tation to dine at the Donovan's next DAY.
He didn't tell Brown.
That next day the gods called Pierpoint
i Browning out of town; he went to El
i Paso on Hurry business, and from there
4 to Mexico and it was too weeks before
1 he got back. He had forgotten all about
4 Two Step Willie, though he had thought
I some about Flora. Il 1t never entered his
Elhead that Willie could have been climb
A ing the social ladder. hand over hand
3 meanwhile. When Browny went UP tc
& call on the Donovans, l1eNnearly tainted
i away.
i Willie had been lndustriously saving
a wood and by this time he was an old
a friend of the family. Old Mr.. Donovan
4 was calling him Bill, the old lady had
half talked him to death, Flora had In
a troduced him to nearly everybody II
town and the bull pup had stopped growl
ing at him. E's33 s
4 How Willie had kept up his end the
Z Lord only knows. From what he le
drop imagine that he had spent abou
every cent he had saved to buy an inter
est in shop with. and have no douo
he counted the money we'll lost. II
had splurged in flowers and cabs ant
suppers and theatre tickets In a way tina
did him credit as a rapid-flre spender. IL
had done 1t up brown, travelling ever!
i night after 80 as ". Jimpson Riddle