The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-10-27


III himself in almost total dark
ness. But as his eyes grew accus-
toned to the gloom the feeling vanish
ed and the absurdity OF the position
came to his mind.
The tent was small, heavily draped
with silk and smelling of musk. 1t
was divided into two sections by an
immoyable curtain that hung from the
roof TO within a few feet of the floor
The only furniture on Loder's side
was one low chair, and the only light
a faint radiance that, coming from
the invisible half of the pavilion.
spread across the floor in pale band.
For a short space he stood uncertain,
then his hesitation was brought to an
end.
/ please sit down. said a low, soft
voice.
For a further moment he stood I'M
decided. The voice sounded so unex-
pectedly near. In the quiet and dark
ness of the place it seemed to possess
a disproportionate weight, almost the
weight of a familiar thing Then with
sudden, unanalyzed touch of relief,
he located the impression. 1t was the
similarity to Lady Bramfelrs sweet,
With a sense of satisfaction he drew
the chair forward and sat down.
Then for the first time he saw that
on the other side of the gauze partition
asd below it by a few inches was
small table of polished wood, on which
stood an open book, a crystal ball and
a gold dish filled with ink. These were
arranged on the side of the table near
u; fa nth hpinQ
of his range of vision. An amused in
terest touched him as he made his posi-
ton more comfortable Whoever this
woman was, she had an eye for stage
management, she knew how to mar
shall her effects. He found himself
waiting with some curiosity for the
next Injunction from behind the cur
tain.
1.-The art of crystal gazing" began
the sweet, slow voice after pause, lis
one of the oldest known arts" Loder
sat forward The thought of Lady
Bramfell mingled disconcertingly with
some other thought more distant and
less easy to secure.
o obtain the best results" went
on the seer, 1.-The subject lays his I'M
covered hands outspread upon a
|
the invisible priestess was reading
from the open book, for when the
word Surface was reached there
was slight stir that indicated the
changing of position, and when the
voice came again it was in a different
tone.
Please lay your hands, palms down.
ward upon the table,"
Loder smiled to himself in the dark
ness. He pictuSed Chilcote with his
nerves and his impatience going
through this ordeal: then in good hui
mored silence he leaned forward and
obeyed the command. His hands
rested on the smooth surface of the
table in the bar of light from the I'M
seen lamp. I
There was a second in which the
seer was silent; then he fancied that
she raised her head.
you must take off your rings" she
said smoothly ANY metal interferes
with the sympathetic current"
At any other time Loder would have
laughed, but the request so casually
and graciously made sent all POSSIBLE
ity of irony far into the background
The thought of Chilcote and of the
one flaw in their otherwise flawless
scheme rose to his mind. Instinctively
he half withdrew his hands.
Where is the sympathetic current?
he asked quietly. His thoughts were
busy with the question of whether he
would or would not be justified in
beating an undignified retreat
. Between you and me, of course
said the voice softly. 1t sounded Ian
guild. but very rational The idea OF
retreat seemed suddenly theatrical. In
this world of low voices and shaded
lights people never adopted extreme
measures-no occasion made scene
practicable or even allowable. He
leaned back slowly, wkile he summed
up the situation. If by any unlucky
chance this woman knew Chilcote te
, have adopted jewelry and had seer
the designs of his rings the sight OF
his own SCARED finger would SUCCESS
question and comment. If. on the
other hand, he left the pavilion with
out excuse or if without apparent rea
son he refused to remove the rings, he
opened up a new difficulty. a fresh
: road to curiosity. 1t came upon hin
with unusual quickness-the obstacles
to and the need for a speedy decision
| He glanced round the tent; then IN
. consciously he Strengthened his shout
ders. After all, he had stepped into
tight corner but there was no need
) to cry out in squeezing his way back
: Then he realized that the soft, ingra-
tiating tones were sounding once
more.
Its the passing of my hands over
, yours while l look into the crystal that
sets up sympathy"-a slender hand
moved swiftly into the light and picked
} I'D the ball-"and makes my eyes see
: the pictures in your mind Now, VIII
you please take off your ringsT
The very naturalness Of the request
| f5isarrned him. 1t was q risk. But, as
Chilcote had ssid, risk was the salt OF
/ life!
I'm afraid you think me very
: troublesome" The voice came again