THE GIRL THAT DISAPPEARS
she slipped back into the darkness.
The department store, especially in those divisions of it where wages are very low, is a regular stamping ground for the cadet. He picks out the attractive girl, scrapes up an acquaintance with her, and if he finds that she is without protection, so much the easier for him. He offers her opportunities for social enjoyment. He takes her to the theatre, to Central Park, to Coney Island. He commiserates her poor circumstances, and he points out to her handsome women dressed in costly gowns, riding in their motor cars. He tells her these were all wage earning women who discovered an easier way of life. Gradually the poison sinks into her mind, and soon there is another moth singeing its wings.
The strange part of it is that in a great measure he is pointing out to her the truth, for among the most beautiful gowns you will see in Central Park or on Fifth Avenue, many of them are worn by fallen women.
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