Marmion was beginning to fear would probably have broken the party up in
somewhat unpleasant fashion. As it was they contented themselves with
saying: "How exceedingly clever!" "He must be quite a remarkable man!"
"I wonder we've never heard of him before!" "He must make a great deal
of money!" "I wonder if I could persuade the dear Prince--what a
charming man he is!--to bring him to my next At Home day?" and so on,
perfectly ignorant, as it was well they should be, that they had
witnessed a real conquest of Knowledge over Force.

Phadrig, who seemed to be the least interested person on the lawn,
looked about him, and said as quietly as before:

"I should be very much obliged if the best tennis player in the company
will do me the honour to have a game with me."

Now, it so happened that Brenda, in addition to her other athletic
honours, had recently won the Ladies' Tennis Tournament at Washington,
which carried with it the Championship of the State for the year, and so
this challenge appealed both to her pride in the game and her spirit of
adventure. She looked round at Nitocris, and said:

"I've half a mind to try, Niti. I suppose he won't strike me with
lightning or send me down through the earth if I happen to beat him.
Shall I?"

"Yes, do," replied her hostess, with a suspicion of mischief in her
voice; "those dear Professors of ours are puzzling so delightfully over
the first miracle, or whatever it was, that I _do_ want to see them
worried a little more. It will be a wholesome chastening for the
overweening pride of knowledge."

"Very well," laughed Brenda, rising and dropping a light cloak from her
shoulders. "It's the first time I've had the honour of playing against a
magician, mind, so you mustn't be too hard on me if I lose."

Lord Leighton fetched her racquet and one for Phadrig, and they went
together towards the tennis-court in which he was standing. The three
Professors left their places and stood at one end of the net, Messrs
Hartley and Van Huysman indulging in audible growls of baffled
scepticism, and Franklin Marmion silently observant, divided between
interest and amusement. He could not help imagining what would happen if
he were to stand in the middle of the circle and remove himself to the
Higher Plane, and then go round shaking hands and saying, "Good
afternoon."

Brenda acknowledged Phadrig's bow with a gracious nod as she took her
place. Then Lord Leighton handed the other racquet to