gambling, and perhaps afraid to admit their losses to their
husbands, or, often having been introduced through gambling to far
worse evils, were sent out from these poker rendezvous to the
Broadway cafes, there to flirt with men, and rope them into the
game.

I could not help feeling that perhaps some of the richly gowned
women in the house were in reality "cappers" for the game. As I
studied the faces, I wondered what tragedies lay back of these
rouged and painted faces. I saw broken homes, ruined lives, even
lost honor written on them. Surely, I felt, this was a case worth
taking up if by any chance we could put a stop or even set a
limitation to this nefarious traffic.

"Have you ever had any trouble?" Garrick asked as we sipped at the
refreshments.

"Very little," replied Miss Lottie, then as if the very manner of
our introduction had stamped us all as "good fellows" to whom she
could afford to be a little confidential in capturing our
patronage, she added nonchalantly, "We had a sort of wild time a
couple of nights ago."

"How was that?" asked Garrick in a voice of studied politeness
that carefully concealed the aching curiosity he had for her to
talk.

"Well," she answered slowly, "several ladies and gentlemen were
here, playing a little high. They--well, they had a little too
much to drink, I guess. There was one girl, who was the worst of