The evening world., 1911-06-01
Professors Mystery
BY WELLS HASTINGS and BRIAN HOOKER.

roar Al 0rst the contrast WIN mo
glare of the street made II seem almost
absolutely dark; and as my eyes grad
ually became adapted to the dtmness 1
remembered being shut in the closet
when / was a child. and how the pale
streaks from decreasing and keyhole
had gradually diluted the gloom in just
the same way. The recollection was so
vivid that / half imagined here the
same rustic and STIFFNESS of hanging
clothes, and the sense OF outrage at the
shutting out daylight.
Then slowly the room cormed itself
out of darkness into grayness: the white
ceiling. with its moving shadows and
Dubious cloth-enfolded CHANDELIER, the
floor and furniture. all shrouded in sum-
mer covers of grayish denim; and tho
indefinite shade of the walls. ligntened
here and there by the square of a pic
ture turned back outward. and darkened
by the gloom OF the corners and the
blurred figures of the dozen people or 50
who sat about in twos and threes talk
Ing in whispers ms muttcrings.
At the back OF tho room were large
folding doors. now tightly closed. In
the corner or the side toward the hall
stood a grand piano. enormous and bare
under It's pale coverings: M the outer
Z" piONtu ny n MA w tIlllItIts "
piece Of the fifties wherein stood Jumps
Of bric-a-brac tied up in bags.
Most OF the furniture was ranged
rigidly against tho wall. but In tho
centre of the iioor glimmered duly the
uncovered mahogany Of a heavy round
table. In spite OF the dark and the
GOODNESS. the air was close and stufYy.
as II with the presence OF a multitude.
and ! was a trife surprised to ind
that we were actually so few.
What sort OF a crowd is this?" I
asked Maclean in an undertone. Il
can't make them out"
Every sort. ] near every sort that's
got the social drag or the prominence
in this business 10 get in with the
crowd. But inside OF that, you get
EN- all kinds. you see? The chap
that let's us In Is a philosophy prof.
an a psychic observation-disclosures, his
name Is. That Old gink over there alone
by himself is some other pioneer o.
modern bought I've got to And gu:
about him later. The rest are mostly
social lights. / guess. This IS the EN-.
met Langdons' house, an they're here
somewhere. / can't see faces yet, can
you?'
shook my head. W seem TO be In
sunday edition company. anyway"
Sure. All headllners. Faces on file in
every Office. Hullo, here's the spook-
stress. They're OF In a bunch"
A rather heavy woman IN a Iona drab
dust-coat had come in. followed by Prof.
~Shelburgh, who closed the door behind
them. l gathered n vague impression.
only hair visual. that she was middle
aged and of that plumply blond type
which ages by imperceptlble degrees.
She made me think. somehow. OF a
mass Of molasses candy after II has
been pulled into paleness n before II
has hardened, but I could not tell
whether this suggestion came from her
voice or from her sleep!ly effusive man.
ner or was a mere fancy about a
physical presence which / could hard
ly see.
She took or her hat and coat and sat
down at the centre-table. pushing back
her hair and rubbing her hands over her
face as II to shake off drowsiness, while
the others. except Maclean n myself
and the gentleman In the corner, drew
up their seats In a circle about the
table and placed their hands upon II.
The professor counted the hands aloud
In a p~erfunctory tone. and they ali
leaned forward, hand touching hand
around the circle.
Are we all right. Mrs. Mahi2" the
professor asked,
"AlI right-all right cooed the
medium; conditions are good to-day
! can feel 'em comm s~lready-slng 20
me. somebody"
The old gentleman In the corner made
a dull sound that might have been a
snort or "A suppressed cough. one OF
the women began to sing "Suwanee
River" Just above her breath, and the
others Joined in, half-humming. half
grooming.
1t was like the singing of children in
It's tOneless unison. In its dra eyed
rhythms n slurring from note TO note;
and the absurd resemblance Of tho
scene TO a game OF Jenkins-Up gave
the final touch OF incongruity. These
people, or some OF them at least await
were in quest Of the supernatural or
the unknown.
Here were the dimness. the fragile
tension. the impalpable weight of mu-
tualltv, the atmosphere OF n coming
crisis. and this In tho commonplace
ROOM. closed up for the summer. with
the traffic of the avenue outside and
the commonplace people within. incon-
eruous in their ordinary clothes, sitting
with their hands upon a table and
humminc a hackneyed melody q little
off the key,
There was an unreaity about IL all,
a touch of theatrical tawdr,ness. OF
mummery n tinsel gold and canvas
distances, an acuteness OF that feeling
which one always has IN tho climaxes
zeal because the settins(is not stranse
Go Be conti9usds