But I do not speak, I am paid to
keep silent; and when I am not paid, still I keep silent for my credit's
sake. Hundreds of women think me their saviour, I know them for my
dupes. But mark you, I do not push this game too far. A love philtre--of
coloured water--I may give at a price, but not a poisoned rose. These
they must seek elsewhere. For the rest, in my way I am honest. I take
the world as it comes, that is all, and, as women will be fools, I
profit by their folly and have grown rich upon it.
* About sixty-three pounds sterling.
'Yes, I have grown rich, and yet I cannot stop. I love the money that is
power; but more than all, I love the way of life. Talk of romances and
adventure! What romance or adventure is half so wonderful as those that
come daily to my notice? And I play a part in every one of them, and
none the less a leading part because I do not shout and strut upon the
boards.'
'If all this is so, why do you seek the help of an unknown lad, a
stranger of whom you know nothing?' I asked bluntly.
'Truly, you lack experience,' the old man answered with a laugh. 'Do you
then suppose that I should choose one who was NOT a stranger--one who
might have ties within this city with which I was unacquainted. And as
for knowing nothing of you, young man, do you think that I have followed
this strange trade of mine for forty years without learning to judge at
sight? Perhaps I know you better than you know yourself.
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