at?" she asked harshly. "What we want is gold,
gold all the time. You ought to know that, you, who have been so near
to starvation. Are you a fool that you don't realize it?"

"I am not a fool," Saton answered calmly, "but there is another side
to the whole matter. A meeting such as to-night's gives an immense
fillip on the part of society to what they are pleased to call the
supernatural. It is only the fear of ridicule which keeps half the
people in the world from flooding our branches, every one of them
eager to have their fortunes told. A night like to-night is a great
help. Clever men, men who are believed in, have accepted the principle
that there are laws which govern the future so surely as the past in
its turn has been governed. One needs only to apprehend those laws, to
reduce them to intelligible formulae. It is an exact study, an exact
science. This is the doctrine which I have preached. When people once
believe it, what is to keep them from coming in their thousands to
those who know more than they do?"

The woman shook her head derisively.

"No need to wait for those days," she answered. "The world is packed
full of fools now. No need to wrestle with nature, to wear oneself
inside out to give them truth. Give them any rubbish. Give them what
they seem to want. It is enough so long as they bring the gold. How
much was taken to-day altogether?"

Saton passed on to her the papers which the man Huntley had given him
in the cafe.

"There is the account," he said. "You see it grows larger every day."

"What becomes of the money?" she asked.

"It is paid into the bank, and the banker's receipt comes to me each
morning. There is no chance for fraud. I must make some more
investments soon. Our balance grows and grows."

The woman's eyes glittered.

"Bring me some money to-morrow," she begged, grasping his other hand.
"I like to have it here in my hands. Money and you, Bertrand, my
son--they are all I care for. Banks and investments are well enough. I
like money. Kiss me, Bertrand."

He laughed tolerantly, and kissed her cheek.

"My dear Rachael," he said, "you have already bagsful of gold about
the place."

"They are safe," she assured him, "absolutely safe. They never leave
my person. I feel them as I sit. I sleep with them at night. I am
going to bed now. Bertrand!"

"Well?" he asked.

She pointed to him with long forefinger, a forefinger aflame with
jewels.

"Look! We play with no fortune-te