bruptly.
Following his eyes, I saw that the cobra had also awakened from its
trance, and was regarding us steadily and hissing slightly. The adept
smiled as he saw us shrink back.

"Do not fear," he said. "Come, Toto," and stepping across the room, he
lifted the cobra in one hand and held it a moment close to him, gently
stroking the distended hood. The snake curled itself about his arm and
seemed to cuddle to him, but it kept its eyes fixed on us. I could not
but smile at the incongruity of its name. Toto was well enough for a
French poodle, but for a cobra!

After a moment, the adept lifted the lid of a round basket which stood
on the floor near the divan, dropped the snake gently into it, and
fastened down the lid. Then he clapped his hands softly, and an
instant later the curtains at the rear of the room parted and a
strange figure appeared between them.

It was the figure of a man, not over five feet tall and very thin. He
was almost as dark as a full-blooded negro, and the white burnoose
which was thrown about his shoulders and covered him to just below
the hips, made him look even darker. His legs were bare and seemed to
be nothing but skin and bone. The flat-nosed face, with its full lips
and prominent eyes, reminded me of an idol I had seen pictured
somewhere.

The newcomer bowed low before the adept, and, at a sign from him,
picked up Toto's basket and disappeared with it through the curtains.
He had not even glanced in our direction. The adept turned back to us.

"Now, friends," he said, "will you not enter?"

Goldberger led the way into the room and stopped to look about it. The
walls were hung with black velvet, so arranged that windows and doors
could be covered also, and the room was absolutely devoid of
furniture, save for a low, circular divan in the centre of which stood
the crystal sphere, supported, as I saw now, by a slender pedestal.

"I have a few questions to ask you," began Goldberger at last, in a
voice deferential despite himself.

"Proceed, sir," said the adept, courteously.

"Do you know that Mr. Vaughan is dead?"

The adept made a little deprecating gesture.

"Not dead," he protested. "A man does not die. His soul rejoins the
Over-soul, that is all. Yes, I know that at midnight the soul of my
pupil passed over."

"How did you learn that?" Goldberger demanded.

"I saw it in the sphere," replied the adept calmly.

"Where were you at the time?"

"I was gazing at the sphere.