This is a game, Laura, _not a sentiment_. Do you
suppose that Madison--now don't get sore--hasn't turned these tricks
himself before he met you, and I'll gamble he's done it since. A man's
natural trade is a heartbreaking business. Don't tell me about women
breaking men's hearts. The only thing they can ever break is their
bankroll. And, besides, this is not Will's business; he has no right to
interfere. You've been decent with him, and he's been nice to you; but
I don't think that he's given you any the best of it. Now, if you want
to leave, and go your own way, and marry any Tom, Dick or Harry that
you want to, it's nobody's affair but yours."

"But you don't understand--it's John. I can't lie to him," cried Laura.

"Well, that's too bad about you. I used to have that truthful habit
myself, and the best I ever got was the worst of it. All this talk
about love and loyalty and constancy is fine and dandy in a book, but
when a girl has to look out for herself, take it from me, whenever
you've got that trump card up your sleeve, just play it, and rake in
the pot." Taking Laura's hand, she added affectionately: "You know,
dearie, you're just about the only one in the world I've left to care
for."

"Elfie!" cried Laura, taking her companion's hand, sympathetically.

Her eyes filled with tears, Elfie put her handkerchief up to her face
to conceal her emotion. Under the coarseness and flippancy of the
courtesan were glimpses of an unhappy woman, a human being conscious of
her own irretrievable degradation. For the first time in years, she was
making another the confidant of her life's tragedy, the sad,
commonplace story of a woman's ruin. Recovering herself, she went on
quickly:

"Since I broke away from the folks up-State, and they've heard things,
there ain't any more letters coming to me with an Oswego postmark. Ma's
gone, and the rest don't care. You're all I've got in the world, Laura,
and I'm making you do this only because I want to see you happy. I was
afraid this complication would arise. The thing to do now is to grab
your happiness, no matter how you get it, nor where it comes from.
There ain't a whole lot of joy in this world for you and me and the
others we know, and what little you get you've got to take when you're
young, because when those gray hairs begin to show and the make-up
isn't going to hide the wrinkles, unless you're well fixed, it's going
to be h--ll. You know what a fellow doesn't know doesn't