Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-05-22
az SAMUEL HOPKINS ADAMS
Copyright by Bobbs- Merrill Co.

away to sea, lived two years before
the mast picked up smattering of
education. been assistant and capper
for magnetic healer. and had
finally formulated a system of astro-
IAogical prophecy that won him slow
but increasing renown. The gist of
the system was to assign some par
ticular and often imaginary star TO
every subject, and, by natural
aptitude for worming out secrets
from the credulous, lead them along
the celestial paths of mysticism to a
point where he could reach their
nocketbooks. He had been specially
successful with women. One bit of
his philosophy Kent had preserved
unaltered.
"They bite slower than men; but
when they do take hold, they swal-
low theg hook so deep that you're
lucky to get it back at ALL"
! An hours work with a pencil
that should have been blue re-
solved the document, under Kent $
skillful and remorseless editorship,
into it's salient elements. Obvious
Ily it was impossible to put it
into alien hands for copying. Kent
ordered up typewriter and copied 1t
himself. The duplicate he enclosed in
his letter to Sedgwick. The original
he put aside to sleep upon. Thus it
ran:
This Astraea affair looked good
from the first" SO began Preston
Jaxs confession, as beheaded and
stripped down by its editor II
looked like one of the best. You could
smell money in it with half a nose.
She bit first on one of the occult ads
the number four of the old series,
a double-column with display in
heavy faced italics and loaded out
strong. That ad always was
good woman-catcher. Her first
letter came in on Monday.
l recollect It was q big mail.
There were lot of curiosities
and couple of suspiciouses, and
this was one of half dozen in the
True Believers pile Irene, my as
sistant, had put the red pencil on 1t,
when She sorted out. mail, to show
it was something special. But don't
get her into this. Professor Kent. II
you do, it's all off, jewels and all.
Irene has always for the straight
star business and forecast game, and
no extras or side lines. Besides, we
were married last week.
what attracted Irene's red pencil,
and caught me right away, was the
style of the thing. The handwriting
was classy. The paper was elegant.
There was something rich about it
all. This was no Biddy, pinching out
| the missis' stationery to make a play
with. She quoted poetry, swell
poetry. First off she signed herself
An Adept | gave her the Personal
No. and followed 1t up with the
Special Friendly No. 5. Irene never
| liked that No. 5. She says It's
spoonly. Just the same, it fetches
them. But not this tone. She began
to get personal and warm hearted,
all right, and answered up with the
! kindred-soul racket. But come to
Boston? Not move! Said she
couldn't. There were reasons 1t
| looked like the old game-flitter-h head
ed wife and jealous husband Moth
| ing in that game, unless you go in
for the straight hold-up. And black
mail was always too strong for my
taste. So l did the natural thing;
gave her special readings and doubled
on the price. She paid like a lamb.
Then, blame If it didn't slip out
she wasn't married at all! 1 lost that
letter. It was kind of endearing.
Irene put up a howl 1t was getting
too personal for her taste. I told her
l would cut it out. Then 1 gave my
swell lady another address and wrote
her for a picture. Nothing doing. But
she began to hint around at a meet
ing. One day a letter came with a
hundred dollar bill in it. Loose, too,
just like you or me might send a two
[ cent stamp. For expenses she wrote,
and l was to come at once. Our souls
had returned to recognize and join
each other, she said. Here is the only
part of the letter l could dig up from
the waste basket.
Here the specimen of handwriting
that had caught Kent's eye was
pasted upon the document.
"'You have pointed out to me that
our stars, swinging in mighty circles,
are rushing on to a joint climax. To-
gether we may force open the doors
to the past, and sway the world as
we sought to do in bygone days
And so on and cetera," continued
the narrative. A"Well, of course, she
was nutty; that is about the star
business. But that don't prove any
thing. The dippiest star-chaser 1
ever worked was the head of de-
partment in one of the big stores,
and the fiercest little business woman
in business hours you ever knew. It's
| the romantic in the sex that sets
them skidding when 1t comes to stars
and such like. And Astraea was not
patch on some of them that has
been paying me good sane money for
years. That was the letter she first
called me Herman in and signed
| Astraea to. Said there was no use
pretending to conceal her identity
any longer from me. Seemed to think
| knew all about it. That Jared me
some. And, with the change of writ
| ing in the signature, it all looked