and delivered himself
of a searching question.

"Have you such a thing as a she-wolf in your collection of wild animals?
A she-wolf of moderately good temper?"

Lord Pabham considered. "There is Loiusa," he said, "a rather fine
specimen of the timber-wolf. I got her two years ago in exchange for
some Arctic foxes. Most of my animals get to be fairly tame before
they've been with me very long; I think I can say Louisa has an angelic
temper, as she-wolves go. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering whether you would lend her to me for to-morrow night,"
said Clovis, with the careless solicitude of one who borrows a collar
stud or a tennis racquet.

"To-morrow night?"

"Yes, wolves are nocturnal animals, so the late hours won't hurt her,"
said Clovis, with the air of one who has taken everything into
consideration; "one of your men could bring her over from Pabham Park
after dusk, and with a little help he ought to be able to smuggle her
into the conservatory at the same moment that Mary Hampton makes an
unobtrusive exit."

Lord Pabham stared at Clovis for a moment in pardonable bewilderment;
then his face broke into a wrinkled network of laughter.

"Oh, that's your game, is it? You are going to do a little Siberian
Magic on your own account. And is Mrs. Hampton willing to be a fellow-
conspirator?"

"Mary is pledged to see me through with it, if you will guarantee
Louisa's temper."

"I'll answer for Louisa," said Lord Pabham.

By the following day the house-party had swollen to larger proportions,
and Bilsiter's instinct for self-advertisement expanded duly under the
stimulant of an increased audience. At dinner that evening he held forth
at length on the subject of unseen forces and untested powers, and his
flow of impressive eloquence continued unabated while coffee was being
served in the drawing-room preparatory to a general migration to the card-
room.

His aunt ensured a respectful hearing for his utterances, but her
sensation-loving soul hankered after something more dramatic than mere
vocal demonstration.

"Won't you do something to _convince_ them of your powers, Leonard?" she
pleaded; "change something into another shape. He can, you know, if he
only chooses to," she informed the company.

"Oh, do," said Mavis Pellington earnestly, and her request was echoed by
nearly everyone present. Even those who were not open to conviction were
perfectly willing to be entertained by an exhibition of ama