at a successful seance before concluding my search.

Mrs. Smiley was in great distress of mind over the failure of her
powers. "I guess I'm no good any more," she said. "I never sit now
without a feeling that perhaps my power is gone forever. This Eastern
climate is so harsh for me, and I long for my own California. If you
will not give up, I will keep trying as long as my guides advise it."

"You have done your part," I said, with intent to console her.

"Please don't give up," she pleaded.

"I am not giving up--on the contrary, I am only beginning to fight," I
assured her, paraphrasing General Grant, or some other obstinate person.
"I recognize the truth of what you complain about, but I am sure that at
Fowler's, in a small, warm, well-aired room, you will feel at home and
be secure of interruption."

Mrs. Fowler, a very sensitive, thoughtful, dark-eyed little lady,
received us at the appointed hour with quiet cordiality, and suggested
that her own room up-stairs would be a comfortable and retired place.

To this I agreed, and we set to work to prepare it for the sitting.
Fowler and I assumed control of the psychic, though Brierly insisted
that, as the house belonged to Fowler, it would be more convincing if he
were not connected with the preparation of the room. "I don't think we
need to consider hair-drawn objections," I retorted.

As before, we placed Mrs. Smiley in an arm-chair at one end of a small
table; as before, we secured her ankles by looping a long tape about
them and nailing the two ends to the floor behind her. Mrs. Fowler
introduced an innovation by _sewing the tape to the sleeves of our
psychic_. This made slipping out of the tape an impossibility, but, to
push security still further, I drove a long brass tack down _through
both tape and doubled sleeve_. Not content even with this, Fowler put a
second tape about each wrist, to add further security and to take off
the strain in case of any unconscious movement. Another tape was carried
across Mrs. Smiley's dress about four inches below her knees, and pinned
there. Next the ends were drawn tight and tied to the back rung of her
chair. By this we intended to prevent any pushing action of the knees.
As a final precaution, we nailed her dress to the floor in front with
three tacks. The small end of the tin cone was then placed on the table
(at the request of the psychic) and the large end deposited upright on
the carpet near Fowler. Some sheets of pa