ng woman she had been, she became unpleasantly
suspicious. She explained this to Bristol and Fox as arising from
unfavorable visions and revelations from the spirits through the
different mediums she had employed to give her the truth about her case
with Lyon. The rooms had filled up rapidly with people whom the
operatives had taken pains to ascertain all about, and who, as a rule,
were honest folks; but Mrs. Winslow could not get it out of her mind
that some of them were spies from Lyon, and were watching her in
everything that she did.

There had been nothing whatever done to alarm her on the part of my men;
but the fact alone that here were a dozen people all about her, any one
of whom might at any time spring some sudden harm upon her, began to
affect her as the fear she had all her life inspired in others had
affected them; and she began to form a habit of talking pleasantly on
ordinary subjects, and then turning abruptly and almost fiercely upon
Bristol and Fox, who were now the only persons left whom she would at
all trust--even distrusting them--with a series of questions so vital,
and given with such wonderful rapidity, that it required the best
efforts of the operatives to parry her home-thrusts and quiet her
regarding them.

It was a question in my mind whether she had laid by a large sum of
money or not. Years before she had several thousand dollars; up to the
time she came to Rochester she had had the reputation of never paying a
bill, and, however hedged in she might be by justice, jury, constables,
or sheriff, she not only escaped incarceration, but beat them all
without paying any manner of tribute. She had done a fair business in
duping Spiritualists and other weak-minded people while in Rochester;
she had evidently levied upon Devereaux often and largely, and to my
certain knowledge had taken some thousands of dollars from Lyon, and I
was at a loss to know why she was growing so grasping and exacting as
the reports showed was true of her; for she soon complained of being
poor, levied additional assessment for care of the rooms, insisted upon
her tenants receiving sittings at a good round price from her, and in
general dropped the veneer which had formerly made her extremely
fascinating, and became, save in exceptional moments of good nature, a
masculine, repulsive shrew, who, with a slight touch of hideousness,
might have passed for a stage witch or a neighborhood plague.

CHAPTER XIX.

M