Then, with the utmost politeness, I say, 'I see, madame, that there is nothing to be done but to communicate the matter to your husband.' Then she gets alarmed, and--she pays." "And you don't see any more of her ?" "Not that day; but when the funds are low, I call and say, 'It is I again, madame; I am the poor young man who lost his money in such and such a cab on a certain day of the month.' And so the game goes on.

A dozen such clients give a fellow a very fair income.

Now, perhaps, you understand why I am always so well dressed, and always have money in my pocket.

When I was shabbily attired, they offered me a five-franc piece, but now they come down with a flimsy." The young wretch spoke the truth; for to many women, who in a mad moment of passion may have forgotten themselves, and been tracked to their homes by some prowling blackmailer, life has been an endless journey of agony.

Every knock at the door makes them start, and every footfall on the staircase causes a tremor as they think that the villain has come to betray their guilty secret.
"That is all talk," said Polyte; "such things are never done." "They _are_ done," returned Toto sulkily.
"Have you ever tried the dodge yourself, then ?" sneered Polyte.
At another time Chupin would have lied, but the fumes of the drink he had taken, added to his natural self-conceit, had deprived him of all judgment.
"Well," muttered he, "if I have not done it myself exactly, I have seen others practise it often enough--on a much larger scale, it is true; but one can always do things in a more miniature fashion with perhaps a better chance of success." "What! _you_ have seen this done ?" "Of course I have." "And had you a share in the swag ?" "To a certain extent.