eceive the gift of second-sight; the power of separating your
immaterial from your material body and projecting it, anywhere you
will, on the physical plane; and, to a large extent, you will be
enabled to circumvent gravity. Thus you will be able to perform all
manner of jugglery tricks--tricks that will set the whole world
gaping. Profit by them.

"In the third stage you will possess the secrets of invisibility; of
walking on the water; of breathing under the water; of taming wild
beasts; and of understanding their language.

"In the fourth stage you will understand how to inflict all manner of
diseases, and work all sorts of spells; such, for instance, as
bewitching milk, causing people to have fits, bad dreams, etc. You
will also know how to create plagues--plagues of insects, or of any
other noxious thing.

"In the fifth stage you will possess absolute knowledge of the art of
medicine and be able to cure every ailment.

"In the sixth stage you will acquire the power of producing vampires
and werwolves from the human being, and of transforming people from
the human to any animal guise.

"In the seventh and final stage you will be given the complete mastery
of every art and science--including astrology, astronomy, necromancy,
etc.; and for this stage is reserved the greatest power of
all--namely, the complete dominion over woman's will and affections.
The powers of creating life, and of extending life beyond the now
natural limit, and of avoiding accidents, will never be conferred on
you. Neither shall you learn, not at least during your physical
existence--who or what we are, or the secrets of creation.

"Each successive stage will cancel the preceding one--that is to say,
the powers you have acquired in the first stage will be annulled on
your arriving at the second stage, and so on. But if you carry out
your compact faithfully--that is to say, if at the end of the
twenty-one months you are still united--all the powers you have held
hitherto, in the different stages, temporarily, will return to you and
remain in your possession permanently. Have you anything to say?"

"Yes!" Hamar answered; "I fully understand all you have explained to
us and I like the idea of it immensely. The fear of our coming to any
serious loggerheads and of dissolving partnership doesn't worry me
much--but I must say, it seems very remote--the prospect of gaining
such tremendous powers--powers that will give us practically
everything