The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-24
SA WOMAN'S { ] ENCHANTMENT> 5 By William Le Queux ,
 Copyright, 1909, by William Le Queux
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 Through her you lost the oil con- cession of course!'
 ''Yes-and through her" he sigh ed. But did not. complete his sen. tence. I noticed that the corners of his mouth hardened at some bitter re- collection.
 ''weI?" I asked.
 Nothing. Nothing, my dear Phil, and he seemed to swallow lump that ed to get rid of her~from Roumania he said with a strange smile, and apparently he has succeeded"
 At that moment George Cunliffe, came up in evening clothes. evidently to dine at the hotel, and rose to chat with him upon a business matter.
 Granny. hearing us talk business. strolled discreetly away along the pavement to where stood the outside porter. I noticed he spoke to the man, who replied. touching his cap at the same time To them all Granny Cough was we'll known and popular on ac- count of his disbursement of tips had entered the hotel, we reseated our selves. and I again referred to the handsome well dressed woman who had called for Garshore. But he told me plainly that he did not wish to discuss her. Had it not been for her existence the concession would never have been granted to the man who had served him such a shabby trick.
 We talked of dainty little Myra- had to cheer him. but he declared frankly that his future was now hope less. She believed him to be a rich man. Like many other girls. she ad- mired and loved him because she knew that once his wife. her position and affluence would be assured. She, who lived that quiet, uneventful country life in Yorkshire. had day dreams of travel to America, Japan and India, of gayety in the European capitals, and the love of a man who knew the world so well. and yet who preferred her to all the hundreds of women he had met.
 I knew her, and knew too well how entirely devoted she was to kim. He, on his part, declared that when she knew the ugly truth concerning him she would at once abandon him. Yet, somehow, did not believe that. Her love for him was too deep and true.
 For long time after talking of her we sat in silence. He had been con- templating going to her and making a clean breast of it. But from that-at least for the present. had dissuaded him.
 I was thinking over my own love romance, one that was known to my self alone. had never worn my heart upon my sleeve, but in my thfrty-three years of life had not passed through this world with it unscathed. My own love had, alas!. been the cause of all my cratic wanderings. When abroad in my loneliness I longed for London, the whirr of the motor buses and the smell of the Strand. Yet as soon as I returned there fell upon me a crowd of recollections. of bright. happy days not so very long ago-days when had foolishly believed that happiness with the woman loved was within my grasp.
 An! Perfect love combined with peace is a will-o'-the-wisp to most men. and women. to. Those who read this cur ious chronicle of mans craftiness and women's affection know well how ito themselves peace and love have ap- preached so very near that perhaps for a day, for a week. or for year they have actually gained it, and then. alas in a single instant 1t has left them, never to return.
 I was no exception to the rule. I hadN loved and loved well-but had lost. And now I had grown cynical, bitter and world-weary. Such mood as this had drawn me toward Granny Cough. We had both been equally un- fortunate, both cosmopolitan and both men of the world.
 We dined together .n the grillroom, spent an hour in the Tivol, that popu- lar music hall in the Strand; had a cigarette in the Devonshire Club, and at eleven he walked with me to the door of Talbot House. in St. Martini 8 lane. where lived. I had wished him goodnight and grasped his hand when suddenly he said:
 "I may have left London by to-mor- row morning, Phil"
 Left! Why, you've only just nturn- ed. Why are you off so quickly"
 He regarded me with a rather cur ious look. thought.
 'I may not go, of course," he said. 'But if I have gone you won't be surprised"
 Where are you going?"
 That's just what I don't know" What's at the back of your mind? Just be open with me. Are you going up to Yorkshire after all?"
 He was silent. .aad@I realized that such was his intention.
 Come upstairs and have another drink" I said And don't you be a fool. You're not yourself tonight" And. entering. he followed me into the lift. and afterward into my tiny. but rather comfortable. flat, of which. about one month in every twelve, I was tenant. The remainder of the time it was given over to old Mrs. AL mond. the rheumatic-racked and bibu- lous laundress.
 When we had ensconced ourselves fin
 
 easy chairs and I had mixed him whisky and soda I tried once more to point out the judiciousness of waiting. He listened to me without comment seated there like a man in a dream. His kindly blue eyes were fixed straight before him at the Vanity Fair" cartoon on the opposite wall. Since he had encountered that woman Lydia Popescu, he had somehow be- come changed man.
 His manner was distinctly mysteri- ous. I, who knew him well in all his moods and was aware of his continu- ous ups-and-downs consequent upon an adventurer's existence had never witnessed such a change in him.
 The iron of misfortune seemed to have entered his soul. and at the same time his whole being seemed stirred by some strong impulse He had lost all. reflected. Was it the spirit of revenge?
 When he spoke his words were full of biting sarcasm. went into the kitchen to obtain a fresh Siphon of S0da water and while T had cnno I