Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-01-31


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
immovable 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 a 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 familiar thing. Then with
sudden, unanalyzed touch of relief,
he located the impression. 1t was the
similarity to Lady Bramfelrs sweet.
slow tones that had stirred his mind.
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
and below it by few inches was a
small table of polished wood, on which
stood an open book, crystal ball and
a gold dish filed with ink. These were
arranged on the side Of the table near
est to him, the farther side being out
of his range of vision. An amused in
terest touched him as he made his posi-
lion 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.
"The art of crystal gazing" began
the sweet, slow voice after pause, is
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.
ITO obtain the best results" went
on the seer, s'the subject lays his I'M
covered hands outspread upon a
smooth surface" 1t was evident that
the invisible priestess was reading
from the open book, for when the
word surface" was reached there
was a slight stir that indicated the
changing of position, and when the
voice came again it was in different
tone
please lay your hands, palms down.
ward, upon the table,"
Loder smiled to himself in the dark
ness. He pictrSed Chilcote with his
nerves and his impotence 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.
There was second In which the
seer was silent; then he fancied that
she raised her head
"You must take on 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
icy or irony far into the background.
The thought of Chilcote and of the
one flaw in their otherwise fawless
scheme rose to his mind. Instinctively
he half withdrew his hands.
Where is the sympathetic currentY
he asked quietly. His thoughts were
busy with the question OF whether he
would or would not be justified In
beating an undignifed retreat.
Between you and me, Of course"
said the voice softly. It 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, while he summed
up the situation If by any unlucky
chance this woman knew Chilcote to
have adopted jewelry and had seen
the designs Of his rings the sight Of
his own SCARED finger would suggest
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 new difficulty, fresh
road to curiosity. 1t came upon him
with unusual quickness- the obstacles
to and the need for speedy decision.
He glanced round the tent; then I'M
consciously be Strengthened his Shout
ders. After all, he had stepped into
a 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.
eIfs the passing Of my hands over
..,,.. ,xzi,sfs.5T lnoJy info the crystal that