"The Exact Science of Matrimony." O. Henry.

One-minute review: Flim-flam times two. Two male schemers employ a female “wealthy” widow to be the lure for men to try to marry her—at a price to the flim-flammers who arrange meetings with her. As they are about to slip away, she begs for $2,000 to give to the successful applicant for her love, whom she loves to distraction. Seems the successful applicant was one-half of the flim-flamming duo who was courting the widow himself. All the money, including the widow’s $2,000, is accounted for and they are gone. The perfect scheme.

75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World’s Literature. Ed. Roger B. Goodman. New York: Bantam Books. 1961. These summaries do not do justice to the vividness of the stories. RayS.