ting what she wanted later on. She
never conceived that she was not to have final power in her own house;
Paul had as yet denied her nothing. She moved the pictures and the pots
and the crochet work down from the attic and replaced them where they
had been-or, nearly replaced them. She found it already rather amusing
to puzzle Grace by changing their positions from day to day so that
Grace was bewildered and perplexed.

Grace said nothing--only solidly and with panting noises (she suffered
from shortness of breath) plodded up and down the house, reassuring
herself that all her treasures were safe.

Maggie, in fact, enjoyed herself during the weeks immediately following
Grace's return. Paul seemed tranquil and happy; there were no signs of
fresh outbreaks of the strange passion that had so lately frightened
her. Maggie herself found her duties in connection with the Church and
the house easier than she had expected. Every one seemed very friendly.
Grace chattered on with her aimless histories of unimportant events and
patted Maggie's hand and smiled a great deal. Surely all was very well.
Perhaps this was the life for which Maggie was intended.

And that other life began to be dim and faint-even Martin was a little
hidden and mysterious. Strangely she was glad of that; the only way
that this could be carried through was by keeping the other out of it.
Would the two worlds mingle? Would the faces and voices of those
spirits be seen and heard again? Would they leave Maggie now or plan to
steal her back? The whole future of her life depended on the answer to
that ...

During those weeks she investigated Skeaton very thoroughly. She found
that her Skeaton, the Skeaton of Fashion and the Church, was a very
small affair consisting of two rows of villas, some detached houses
that trickled into the country, and a little clump of villas on a hill
over the sea beyond the town. There were not more than fifty souls all
told in this regiment of Fashion, and the leaders of the fifty were
Mrs. Constantine, Mrs. Maxse, Miss Purves, a Mrs. Tempest (a large
black tragic creature), and Miss Grace Trenchard--and they had for
their male supporters Colonel Maxse, Mr. William Tempest, a Mr. Purdie
(rich and idle), and the Reverend Paul. Maggie discovered that the
manners, habits, and even voices and gestures of this sacred Fifty were
all the same. The only question upon which they divided was one of
residence. The richer and finer division