Short Stories About Trickery & Deception

As a general rule we are a trusting lot. You say something and, whilst I might disagree, I believe you are acting in good faith. Of course this may be just the beginning of a ruse. If I trust you I might let down my guard, I might seek to share and to create a bond between us. But, if you can't be trusted, if you have an ulterior motive I might lose out. In the hands of authors such as Maxim Gorky, Ella D'Arcy, Rudyard Kipling, Ivan Turgenev and may others reality may not be what it quite seems.