SELLING A STORY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 71, 23 March 1912, Page 19

SELLING A STORY.

John Kendrick Bangs, formerly editor of Harper's Weekly and other pub* lications, tells the story of an attempt he made to get the better of Richard Harding Davis (according, to w the Ne^i York Evening Po»t) ':' •"• " "' J ™ "Davis and I were talking one day of his Van Bibber stories, and, incidentally, I asked him how" long it had taken him to write them. "'O, about ten days each,' he replied. ' t "I ventured to express the opinion fhat euck a story could well be written .in a couple of hours, and the result was we made a bet of a dinner based on my "ability to write a, story similar in style to the Van 'Bibbers, and to have it accepted by a New York editor. When I leached my home, in You-kei-8 that' night, I- wrote the story, the work occupying the time from. eight un til ten o'clock; at ten the next morning I reached my office in Franklypaquare j at 10.30 I submitted my story to myself; by 10.45 I had read it, my warm regard for tho author leading me to expedite the mattor as much as possible ; at eleven o clock I accepted The manuscript, and at 11.15 I drew an order on the cashier . for lOOdol in payment, which I at once cashed. Then I went out to find Davis. .Meeting him, I told him of what I had done, detailing the various steps.i and at the end held out in my hand .tho cash to prove that the transaction really had been consummated. "Davis looked at me, then at the bills. " 'Well,' I said, 'what of that dinner, Davits?' "Huh/ grunted Davis, 'if you have all that money you can afford to buy your own dinner.' " '