not speak. I have marked her for
my own; and, mark you, she must be mine. No power shall stop that. If
you presume to speak to her, I will stop you in the act. If ever you
seek to walk with her, I will drag you away from her; nay, more than
that, I will make you act in such a way as to make you, to her, an
object of derision."

"But," I said, "if you possess such a power over me, which I do not
admit, I will proclaim to every one in the house the villainous means by
which you have possessed it. I will make you an object of hatred."

His light eyes gleamed with an unearthly glare. "Think you I have not
thought of that?" he said. "Try and tell of my influence over you, seek
to speak one word against me, and mark the result. I defy you to utter
one word."

Again I was silent. I seemed hemmed in on every hand by this man's
terrible power. "Come," he said, "do you consent to my terms? Do you
relinquish all thoughts, all hopes, of ever winning Gertrude Forrest?"

In spite of my strange situation, I could not help seeing two rays of
light. One was, that this man must have seen that Miss Forrest looked on
me with a degree of favour; and the other was that, if his power was as
great as he boasted, he needed not be so anxious to obtain my consent to
his terms. If I were wholly in his power, he could do with me as he
would, and need not trouble about any promises of mine. This led me to
defy him still.

"Herod Voltaire," I said, "villain by your own admission, I do not
believe in your power; but, admitting it for the moment, I still refuse
to do what you ask me. You have guessed my secret. I love Gertrude
Forrest with all my heart, and I will promise neither you nor any other
man to give up hopes of winning her. And mark you this, too. Although by
unlawful means you may have obtained mastery over me, as surely as there
is a God who cares for men, your power will be broken. Meanwhile, you
may force me to act against my will, but my will you shall never have!"

"Fool, idiot!" he cried, "you shall repent this. You shall be dragged
through mire, dirt, pain, defeat, disgrace, and then, when all is over,
you will find I have had my own way!" He made a step towards me. "Stay
there for a quarter of an hour," he said, "and then you may go where you
will."

He rushed away, and left me alone. I tried to move, but could not; and
yet I realized this--although my body was chained, my mind was still
free and active. When the quarter of