Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-01
A Woman's Enchantment
BY WILLIAM lie QUEUX.
by am LIE 0ueux)
Copyright. 1909, by William LIE Queux.)

as Myra loves you, Cough, it takes more
than lying tongue to turn her from
him." / declared. in an endeavor to cheer
him.
But he only smiled bitterly and shook
his head
Perhaps that would be so if it were
not for the additional facts against me-"
The Radcliffe Gardens AFFAIR." l sug-
gested.
He nodded Then, after a moment. S
silence. he raised his eyes to mine. and
saw tears yelling in them. l pitied
him. for he had lost all that he valued
in life-his well beloved
IL couldn't help it, PHIL he ejacu-
lated brokenly IL was led into it.
II confess to you-led into it by a
woman"
Then you are guilty" | gasped. star
ing al him in dismay. THE victim was
that to be so,''
He smiled again. with strange curl
of the lip. answering:
Poisoned? Bah, What fools doctors
are. They so often make Mistakes
l did not follow his meaning, yet some
how | was not at that moment puzzled
by those words as 1 soon afterWard be-
came. The main point was that the man
at my side. who had no friend in all the
world beside myself and the sweet-faced
girl wearing out her young heart far
away in rural England. had admitted his
guilt.
Was it not fateful circumstance? The
person who knew the truth. and yet
whose lips were perhaps fortunately seal
ed. was the woman who had so suddenly
come into my own life and possessed my
very soul-Elfrida Maynard.
Fully five minutes passed. Neither of
US uttered word The crimson after
glow was fast fading over that wide
eastern sea. where the mists were ris-
ing and the distant shore had tuned
from purple into gray.
"A point which has greatly puzzled me.
Cough 1 remarked at last lis why
that stranger who followed me to Worth
ing. and who gave his name as Winch.
should have given you such timely warn
ing? Tell me who and what he really
Tom Winch is a friend of mine,'
Granny. answered quickly Hes a
crook. it's true, but there's nothing of
the four flush about him. He's clever
and has made. to my knowledge, pots of
| money in the last two or three years"
And yet he's assisting the police?"
SO he says. and Cough laughed
|. slightly: Il can't see why. He ought to
avoid them
Then you don't think he isl.
No. As events have already proved,
he's assisted me-
What's his particular line?' l in
quired. for the crooked paths of life al
ways interested me. Ny acquaintance
with Granny in the past had brought
Ire some very strange friendships IN con-
tinental cities
We'll, his smart motor car is his chief
stock in trade" Granny explained. He's
been all over Europe with it, and brought
OF lots of clever coups-the bunco trick
mostly. Nobody ever suspects that a
man so stylishly dressed. and possessing
sixty Napier could he a thief. His
mode of procedure is usually this. In
Paris. Berlin. Brussels or Vienna, he will
call in the morning at one of the prin-
cipal hotels, and ask for friend a
wealthy person whose arrival he expects.
and incidentally, by distributing liberal
tips to the servants, obtain information
concerning other rich travellers staying
in the hotel. their habits and the places
of amusement they frequent In this
way he selects his victims. follows them
to theaters or cafes. and after meeting
them few times, strikes up an ac-
duaintance which usually ends by his re-
ieTinS them of a well filled wallet
HOW? l asked.
The man seated at my side smiled
"Oh. quite simple. One of his usual
tricks is to pose agent for an impor-
tant firm of manufacturers of leather ar
ticles. he replied. and among other
things to show a beautiful pocket book
with key, which he vii. offer as a