oley glared at him.

"Silence, sir!" he thundered.

"How dare you!" exclaimed Jimmy, in a fierce undertone.

The lawyer tried to impress on the physicians the importance of the
girl's replies.

"The illusion of imaginary wrongs," he said, "must have taken a terrible
hold on her when it compels her to give up her religion."

"I did not give up my religion," protested Paula quickly. "I gave up a
church that countenanced hypocrisy."

"You said," interrupted the examiner, "that the law of compensation will
punish him. What is the law of compensation?"

"It's the pit a man digs for others--and falls into himself."

"And if the law of compensation fails," interposed Mr. Cooley, "you'll
undertake Uncle James' punishment yourself--eh?"

"Mr. Cooley--I must insist!" cried the examiner angrily.

Paula was rapidly becoming more and more hysterical. With growing
exaltation she cried:

"Yes, I will--of that you may rest assured!"

Mr. Cooley, with an expression of triumph on his coarse face, looked
toward the examiner.

"The law would construe that answer as a threat, sir."

Professor Bodley leaned forward to ask a question:

"How would you punish him, young lady?"

The girl shook her head.

"I don't know--it will come to me."

"She will hear a voice within, eh?" laughed Dr. Zacharie.

"Ah--so you hear voices?" demanded the examiner.

"Oh, yes, she does," said Dr. Zacharie.

"We all hear voices within," said Paula seriously.

She stopped speaking. The men all looked at each other significantly.
Then she went on:

"Something tells us to do this or that, and we obey. We obey
blindly--instinctively. Men call it reason, but it's only intuition."

Suddenly the girl became confused, as if conscious of being closely
watched. Slowly, as if impelled by some superior mental force, she
turned around until she found herself face to face with Dr. Zacharie,
who was once more fixing her with his steady gaze. Again she shuddered,
and, recoiling from him with a look of horror, for a moment stood as if
transfixed. Then she turned mutely to Mrs. Parkes, as if instinctively
seeking the protection of one of her own sex. In a hoarse, nervous
whisper, she cried:

"I'm afraid! I'm afraid! I don't understand myself! If I stay here I
shall say things I don't mean! That man is putting thoughts into my
mind--thoughts that are not my own. I don't seem to be able to say what
I want to say. I won't stay here any longer----"

She