nal. That is all. You then wait. Now it
may be ten minutes, half an hour, an hour--anything up to two hours
before anything happens. If there is no result, Mrs. Stapleton will
break up the circle at eleven o'clock, and awaken me if necessary."

He broke off.

"Kindly just examine the cabinet and the whole room first, gentlemen.
We mediums must protect ourselves."

He smiled genially and nodded to the two.

Laurie went straight across the open floor to the cabinet. It was
raised on four feet, about twelve inches from the ground. Heavy green
curtains hung from a bar within. Laurie took these, and ran them to
and fro; then he went into the cabinet. It was entirely empty except
for a single board that formed the seat. As he came out he encountered
the awestruck face of the clergyman who had followed him in dead
silence, and now went into the cabinet after him. Laurie passed round
behind: the little room was empty except for the piano at the back,
and two low bookshelves on either side of the fireless hearth. The
window looking presumably into the garden was shuttered from top to
bottom, and barred, and the curtains were drawn back so that it could
be seen. A cat could not have hidden in the place. It was all
perfectly satisfactory.

He came back to where the others were standing silent, and the
clergyman followed him.

"You are satisfied, gentlemen?" said the medium, smiling.

"Perfectly," said Laurie, and the clergyman bowed.

"Well, then," said the other, "it is close upon nine."

He indicated the chairs, and himself went past towards the cabinet,
his heavy step making the room vibrate as he went. As he came near the
door, he fumbled with the button, and all the lights but one went out.

The four sat down. Laurie watched Mr. Vincent step up into the
cabinet, jerk the curtains this way and that, and at last sit easily
back, in such a way that his face could be seen in a kind of twilight,
and the rest of his body perfectly visible.

Then silence came down upon the room.

II

The cat of the next house decided to go a-walking after an excellent
supper of herring-heads. He had an appointment with a friend. So he
cleaned himself carefully on the landing outside the pantry, evaded a
couple of caresses from the young footman lately come from the
country, and finally leapt on the window-sill, and sat there regarding
the back garden, the smoky wall beyond seen in the light of the pantry
window, and the chimney-po