d not reveal.

They sat down at the table, she and Constance Annesley-Seton, opposite
each other. Madalena unveiled the crystal, which was hidden under a
covering of black velvet when not in use. At first she gazed into the
glittering ball in vain, and her companion watched her face anxiously. It
looked marble white and expressionless as that of a statue in the light
of seven wax candles grouped together in a silver candelabrum.

Suddenly, as it seemed to Constance's hypnotized stare, the statue-face
"came alive." It was not the first time that Constance had seen this
thrilling change. It invariably happened when the crystal began to show
a picture; and so powerful was its effect on the nerves of the watcher in
this silent, perfumed room, as to give an illusion that she, too, could
see dimly what the seeress saw forming in those transparent depths.

"A man is there," Madalena said in a low, measured voice, as if she were
talking in her sleep. "He is shutting a door. It is the front door of a
house like yours. Yes, it _is_ yours. There is the number over the door,
and I recognize the street. It is Portman Square. He puts a latchkey in
his pocket. How could he have got the key? I do not know. Perhaps I could
find out, but there is no time. I must follow him.

"He is hurrying away. He carries a heavy travelling bag. A closed
carriage is coming along--not a public one. It has been waiting for him
I think. He gets in, and the coachman--who is in black--drives off very
fast. They go through street after street! I can't be sure where. It
seems to be north they are going. There's a park--Regent's Park, maybe.
I don't know London well.

"The carriage is stopping--before a closed house in a quiet street. There
is a little garden in front, and a high wall. The man opens the gate and
walks in. The carriage drives off. The coachman must know where to go,
for no word is said. Someone inside the house is waiting. He lets the man
with the bag into a dark hallway. Now he shuts the door and goes into a
room.

"There is a light. The first man puts the bag on a table; it is a dining
table. The other man--much older--watches. The first one takes things out
of the bag. Oh, a great deal of beautiful silver! I have seen it at your
house. And there are other things--a string of pearls and a lot of
jewellery. He pours it out of a brown handkerchief on to the table.

"But still the second man is not pleased. I think he is asking why there