lst Hamar posed as Eve, and directly he had
finished there was another outburst of applause. Kelson dared not look
at John Martin or Gladys. The brief glance he had taken of them at the
conclusion of the giving away of the first trick had shocked him--and
he purposely stood with his back to them. With Hamar it was
otherwise--the joy of triumph was strong within him, and the picture
of John Martin, leaning forward in his chair, with his mouth half open
and a dazed, glassy expression in his eyes, only thrilled him with
pleasure; he laughed at the old man, and still more at Gladys.

"That's the way to treat a girl of that sort," he whispered to Kelson;
"scoff at her--scoff at her well. Let her see you don't care a snap
for her--and in the end she'll run after you and haunt you to death."

"I'm not so sure," Kelson said. "It might act in some cases, perhaps,
but I don't think you can quite depend on it."

"Pooh! You are no judge of women, in spite of all your experience,"
Hamar retorted. "I'll bet you anything you like she'll come round and
make a tremendous fuss of me."

"Supposing you fall in love with her, how about the compact?" Kelson
asked. "You've warned me often enough."

"Oh, but I'm not like you," Hamar replied. "There's nothing soft in my
nature. I fall in love! Not much! Why, you might as well have
apprehensions of my joining the Salvation Army, or wanting to become a
Militant Suffragette--either would be just about as possible. No--! I
shall make the girl love me--and we shall be engaged for just as long
as I please. If I find some one that attracts me more, I shall throw
her aside--if not, maybe, I shall marry her--but in either case there
will be no question of love--at least not on my part. She shall do as
I want--that is all! Hulloa! Curtis is beginning again."

There were five other tricks on the programme--all of which were world
renowned. They were "The Floating Head"; "The Mango Seed"; "The
Haunted Bathing-machine," "The Girl with the Five Eyes," and "The
Vanishing Bicycle" illusion. As with the first two tricks, so Curtis
did with the following five--he explained them, and then, aided by
Hamar and Kelson, gave practical demonstrations of their solutions;
and so thoroughly and clearly were these solutions demonstrated that
the referees asked no questions--they were absolutely satisfied.
Turning to the audience--at a sign from Curtis--they announced that
the whole of Messrs. Martin and Davenport's