“Look here, Carter; before you go more deeply into this affair I should tell you one thing about the woman.”
“Well?”
“Although she has been the cause of many a crime, and is responsible for the sudden taking off of many men, although she has filled a large place in our records for a long time, there is not, to-day, a thing against her for which she could be arrested, with the least chance of conviction. It has even been said of her that she has lived a spotlessly moral life, and so far as my own knowledge goes, it is the truth. But, she is none the less a dangerous woman.”
“I know. I have seen her.”
“Ah; then you do know. Why, my friend, she even tried her wiles upon me—and I nearly fell. It was chance that saved me, rather than my own good sense.”
“And you are more than half in love with her yet, chief. I could see that when you looked at her picture.”
“No; I am not in love with her; not in the least. But I am fascinated by her. And there is a difference, Carter.”