Once upon a time Ferdinand breathed right into Adele's translucent
Listener those three Words which hold all Records as monosyllabic
Trouble-Makers.
They have a harmless look on the Printed Page, but when pulled at the
Psychological turn of the Road, they become the Funeral Knell of
Bachelor Freedom and a Prelude to cutting the String on whatever has
been put by.
The Serpent, operating in the guise of a Lover in a Serge Suit, had
lured, cajoled, wheedled, and finessed until the poor trembling Child,
only twenty-four years of Age, was alone with him in what the
Landscaper had worked off on her Papa as a Formal Garden.
They stood clinched there in the dull Sunset Glow, with a Pergola for
a Background. It was all very Belasco and in strict compliance with
the League Rules laid down by W. Somerset Maugham.
According to the $2 Drama and every bright red Volume selling for
$1.18 at a Department Store, this was--