es were placed on the
stairs, so that those who ran down unwarily tripped over them and hurt
themselves (two successive housemaids broke their legs, whilst another
sprained her wrist).

The meat, too, was a constant worry--it went so bad that enormous
maggots crawled out of it by the thousand and covered the table and
floor; and the milk, of which a large quantity was taken daily,
"turned" in a very curious manner. After being deposited, in its usual
place, in the pantry, it began to darken; first of all it became light
blue, then deepened into an almost inky blackness, exhibiting curious
zigzag lines; and, lastly, the whole mass began to putrefy and to emit
a stench so overpowering that every one in the house retched, and the
whole place had to be disinfected. This occurred day after day.
Nothing would stop it. The dairyman who supplied the milk did all he
could to counteract it. He had his dairies constantly cleansed, he saw
that the cattle had a change of food, he bought an entirely new stock
of dairy utensils, and no milk was ever sent to the Cottage that he
had not had carefully analyzed.

The troubles continued for three weeks, at the end of which period
John Martin received a telephone call from Hamar.

"Hullo!" the latter said, "I guess you've had about enough of it by
this time. Wouldn't you like some sweet-smelling milk for a change, or
do you prefer to go on till you all get typhoid? The remedy, you know,
lies in your own hands. You've only to tell that daughter of yours to
accept me, and I'll undertake all your troubles shall cease."

"I'll see you hanged first," John Martin answered.

"Very well, then, you old mule," Hamar shouted, "look out for
yourself--and Miss Gladys."

CHAPTER XXIII

LOVE

To bring about plagues of insects Hamar had resorted to a very simple
method. He had first of all made a wax image representing a
cockroach--scorpion--centipede, or whatever other species came into
his mind. Then, placing the image he had made in front of him, and
repeating the prayer he had learned from the Unknown, through the
medium of Mrs. Anderson-Waite's table, he had concentrated body, soul,
and spirit on plaguing Gladys with the insect, which the image
represented. When his concentration reached the highest degree,
insects in their actual physical bodies were transported from the
tropics;[23] but when he was unable to concentrate to the utmost, only
the ethereal projections of the insects w