The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-03-13
A Bachelor Quest.

After that be refrIined and became
cynical about marriage.
One night in returning from his club
TO his bachelor quarters he witnessed
a collision between a hack and q street
car. The street car couldn't turn out
and the hack wouldn't. and so they
came together with crash.
When the incident had reached its
end MIR. Shaw resumed his way. Int he
hadn't taken twenty steps when he
made find on the sidewalk. 1t was
white satin slipper and it belonged 90
woman with dainty foot The find
er admired it by lamplight and then
! slipped il into his pocket His heart
gave Il sort Of funk rs he did SO. Here
was a seed of rOmance-a lost slipper
! a dainty slipper, a slipper belonging
{ to some fair lady who had fed from
the collision in wild haste She must
! have been without an escort or the
/ slipper would have been searched for
! and found. What was a handsome wO-
/ man doing that she was out alone at
midnight? Had the question been put
! lawyer would have answered that she
/ probably belonged 10 the TenderlOin
and charged SO for the information;
! but, as il was, he made himself believe
that il was far otherwise As he took
the slipper out Of his pocket and looked
at it with the eyes of a man of the
world and an Old bachelor instinct
81 L, i
that she was blond. that she had merry
! blue eyes, that she had an ariStOCratiC
/ foot and belonged To- the Four Hun
dred. Real old solid romance was bub-
! bling and Seething in his bosom before
| he went to bed that night He may
have thrust the slipper under his pill
low. He may have put it into the
! pocket of his nightShirt SO as to have
| 1t next his heart
If the slipper had looked cute and
/ dainty and ariStOcratic by gaslight il
! looked 30 per cent more SO in the sun
shine Of the morning. Instead Of dying
/ out, the romance dubbed the harder
! Mr.. Shaw felt that he had a case where
/ the jury couldn't 90 back on him. He
gazed long at the dainty thing before
/ ne went To breakfast Then he put ii
+ in his pocket and carried it to his
! Office and placed il on his desk. His
/ girl typiSt saw 1t there and was prop
/ erly shocked 4 man who wanted to
/ sue another man because his dog hai
/ bitten him saw it there and went away
without suing. An old woman who
/ wanted 10 lend some money on Il mort
gage saw it there and went right off
. and consulted a lawyer who had been
! married for twentyyears. None of these
/ things affected Mr.. Shaw. however.
Next day the papers contained 4
/ carefully wOrded advertisements TO the
+ effect that a gentleman who saw the
/ collision that took place in certain
/ locality HAD MADE Il fad afterW@Td ana
/ was anxious to restore the article 20
/ the loser. Some men would have men
/ toned the slipper vi-h, out in print.
! Mr. Shaw didn't do this ont Of respect
/ TO the damsers feelings. If she hal
! been out summing alone he Wasn't 60
ing to give Ter away to her stern IA
! Their or horrified mother. 1t was just
mentioned a Il find" and the result
( was what might have been expected
| One man wrote that he had lost bot
( tie of whisky in the crash and would
/ be much obliged at receiving il back
Another wrote that he had missed Il
/ wad of S14 and was glad to find ali
honest man. \ third had lost his hat
/ and a fourth a cane ana three women
{ wrote about lost bags anG back combs
The one who lost the slipper didn't
write, however. Mr.. Shaw figured it
out that she hadn't got w early enough
/ in the morning 10 see the paper before
the cook lugged it downstairs. and he
advertised again. No answer from
/ her. The only epistle was from par
! ty who claimed to have lost his wood
/ en- leg in the accident, and he dropped
! a warning that il must be returned
| within three days or he would limp
! around To police headquarters and set
fifty detectives at work on the case.
For a third and fourth time Mr.
Shaw ordered that advertisement in
serted. In fact. he made it a It f."
I aG., which means that II WAS TO run
! till forbidden. He felt that sooner or
later the damsel must see it. She was
no doubt wondering what chevaIieT
! had picked it up, and she would Won
der until she turned to the papers.
! The ad. was given u place between a
/ bulldog for sale cheap and a second
hand farm wagon for sale ut a bar
! gain. but he had faith that her eyes
would light on it. And Mr.. Shaw was
! rewarded. The day came when his
/ Office boy hunted him up at lunch and
! told him that there was a lady waiting
/ at the office, and he almost ran the
/ four blocks. There was a lady She
was a young lady. She was colored
| young lady. She had taken the slip
/ per of the desk and was holding it
| in her hand.
Much obleeged, boss" she said as
| the lawyer stared at her
! Then il was yOu-yOu"-
! 1T was me. sab. 1t was me and
! Julius. We had been TO de show and
was comm home. Dat crash Topped
me down on de fob. and it topped
! Julius outer de back doah, and it was
4