rol. This being, invisible for the most part, gave
roses to those he liked, conversed freely, and in one case threw a bunch
of flowers in the face of one of the sitters to whom Eusapia had taken a
dislike. A little later 'John' presented a small drum from behind the
curtain, and, when Galeotti tried to take it, 'John' pulled it out of
his hands. Again he offered it, and Galeotti seized it, and the two
fought for its possession with such violence that the drum was nearly
torn to pieces."

"Where was Paladino meanwhile?" asked Miller.

"Seated quietly in the grasp of Bottazzi and Madame Bottazzi. Galeotti
then raised the drum in his hand, high above his head and against the
curtain, and requested 'John' to beat it. 'John' pushed a hand against
the drum and beat a muffled tattoo. All this was utterly out of the
psychic's reach. The strife over the drum would seem to argue a complete
and powerful figure behind the curtain."

"In other words, a spirit," said Brierly.

"Not so fast," put in Miller. "I am content to plod with these Italian
scientists. Let us establish one supernormal fact and then reach for
another. You fellows with your 'reincarnations,' and the spiritist with
his foolish messages from Cleopatra, Raphael, and Shakespeare, have
confused the situation. We must begin all over again. If all that
Garland is detailing is true--I have not read these reports he speaks
of--then it is our duty to take up the scrutiny of these facts as a part
of biologic science."

Fowler clapped his hands. "Bravo! that is all we ask of you. To study
frogs and mosquitoes, to peer close into the constitution of the blood
or the brain of man, is useful; but, to my mind, the questions raised by
these Continental experimentalists are the most vital now clamoring for
answer."

"Bottazzi says, with regard to his eighth and final sitting: 'The
results of this seance were very favorable, because they eliminated the
slightest trace of suspicion or uncertainty relative to the genuineness
of the phenomena. We obtained the same kind of assurance as that which
we have concerning physical, chemical, or physiological phenomena.
Henceforth sceptics can only deny the facts by accusing us of fraud and
charlatanism. I should be very much surprised if any one were bold
enough to bring the charge against us, but it would not disturb our
minds in the least. From this time forward the medium who wishes to
prove the truth of her phenomena will be oblige