know what had happened; and like most
ladies, who dabble in spiritualism, were ready to believe anything
they were told. Hamar, who had no intention whatever of telling them
what had actually occurred, satisfied them admirably.

He went home delighted--far too delighted to sleep--for he had in his
possession now the greatest of all weapons--the weapon to torment. And
with it what could he not do! What could he not get! He could
get--Gladys!

CHAPTER XXI

THE SELLING OF SPELLS

The period of stage four promised to be one of such a lucrative
nature, that the trio set to work to profit by it at once. They bribed
medical men to procure for them the mumia of people suffering from
every kind of disease; of criminal lunatics; of idiots and epileptics;
they obtained, by bribery also, the blood and hair of the most
abandoned men and women--rakes, thieves, murderers. They bottled and
labelled, and arranged and catalogued, the mumia, in a laboratory
designed for the purpose; and, when all their preparations were
complete, advertised--

SPELLS FOR SALE

THE MODERN SORCERY COMPANY LTD.
offer for sale every variety of spells--love
charms, sleep charms, etc.

In order to carry out the principal conditions of the compact, namely,
to do harm, they made pseudo-love charms as follows:--

They procured the hair of a girl whom they knew to be an incorrigible,
and, at the same time, heartless flirt; and, in the manner described
(and related in the last chapter) made a magnes microcosmi of it. When
ready for use, _i.e._ after it had been in immediate contact with the
girl's flesh, so as to get it fully charged, they had portions of it
set in rings, lockets and pendants. And the purchaser of any one of
these trinkets had only to persuade the object of his (or her)
affection to wear it, and his (or her) love would at once be
reciprocated.

Had the magnes microcosmi been charged with real, deep-rooted love,
the effect on the wearer would have been highly satisfactory, but
charged as it was with the effervescent and fleeting fancy of a flirt,
the effect on whoever wore it could not be more disastrous. The
sentiments of the hopeful purchaser would be reciprocated for a time,
which would probably lead to marriage--after which the affection his
adored had professed would suddenly decrease, and before the honeymoon
was over, would have vanished altogether.

During the week following the announcement of the sale