St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-02-04

women with secrets. Of course, if the
nature of his operations are suspected
by society at large, Othello's occupa-
TONS gone! He drifts into the work
gradually, each man whom he assisted
having some friend in a similar posi-
ton to whom the secret was revealed.
He works, of course, only among the
very wealthy classes, and his fees are
enormous. Two or three affairs year
are all he needs for a handsome in
come, whereas he can handle half q
dozen or more. Hawkins, of Hawkins
& Brown, know paid Wentworth five
thousand for Kidding his daughter Inez
of that cad of Williams. 1t took him
just one month"
"a month"; I exclaimed "that
seems to me quick work. y
''My dear SIR" said the Colonel, sem
tentiously, "if you know how to make
love to woman, a month is plenty
long enough, and if you don't, a life
time is all too short. However, he usu-
ally takes much longer. He has been
working with Clara Epgarde, now, for
nearly year. She is hopelessly STU
pid, as well as obstinate; but he will
succeed, and when he does. you may
depend upon it. old Epgarde will come
down handsomely. During the same
time, however, Wentworth has attended
to various other eases"
Still do not quite comprehend, !
objected, chow he winds up the affair.
Are there no broken hearts and ruined
lives to appear in the last scene of this
eventful history"
"Ah," said the Colonel with a deep
sigh; "now you have touched upon the
hardest part of the Decoy's work. To
make woman love you, when her at
tentions are fixed upon somebody else,
seems like difficult undertaking; but
it is nothing to the task of making her
unlove you. You must understand,
however, that this game is, for the
most part, played with India-rubber
hearts, which sustain but little risk of
being injured. In other cases, it is
the Decoy's cue to make the girl be-
lieye she is jilting him, as she has Tilted
his predecessor. He grows dull and
unsatisfactory; the flower which she
has picked SO rapturously willis in her
hands, and she is brought, by pro-
cess which she can not fathom, to fling
it away, experiencing a sense of relief
as she does so. This is usually the
point when the desirable party is
pushed forward by the parents, and
every one is rendered happy by the
proper kind of union"
As Colonel Calder unfolded these as
tonishing facts to ME, sat with my
eyes fastened upon Mr.. Wentworth 5
face. To this youth Machiavelli was a
simpleton, and Talleyrand clumsy
blunderer. Looking upon him in the
light of the Colonel's revelation be-
gan to see plainly, back of the smooth,
clean-cut features and the languid out
lines of his face, the relentless force
which had been described. l shuddered.
AT that moment | saw my friend and
host gradually working his way through
the crowd toward us.
Zone thing more,' / said, hastily;
'does it never happen in the Decoy's
play with the hearts of women that his
own heart is touched? And why is it
that when he wins the affection of some
heiress he does not marry her and end
his nefarious occupation?'
Zone answer does for both ques-
tions?" said my companion, rising as [
did. He leaned over and whispered in
my ear, Wentworth was Sc
cretly married five years ago. He has a
wife and two children living in Har-
lem" Then, pushing aside the por-
there, he disappeared, after pressing
his finger significantly upon his lips.
As l rode with my friend and his
wife back to Madison avenue, he asked
me what kind of company found Col
onel Calder
very pleasantly" I answered, en-
Enthusiastically, che seems to have a
limitless fund Of interesting informa-
ton about society and the people one
meets. -
My friend looked at his wife, who
smiled slightly.
EYES, he said. slowly, sit is, as you
say, very interesting and quite-ah-
limitless. IN 7. Cor. San francisco
Argonaast.