tin' and reunitin' lovin' hearts. Of course you're saying that this
is a lot of foolishness. Never mind." She paused a moment, and plied
the needle. "What's the trouble between you and that slim little niece
of Mrs. Markham's that you want her aunt exposed? An' can't I fix it
some other way?"

"What do you know about Miss Markham?" asked the sitter.

"I've opened myself up to you like a school-girl in a cosey corner
chat," said Rosalie Le Grange; "ain't it time _you_ was doin' some
confidin'?"

"Did you ever hear that Miss Markham had been brought up to be a
medium? That she mustn't marry because it would destroy her powers?
That she's been taught to believe that she will never develop fully
until she's put aside an earthly love?"

"O-ho!" quoth Rosalie; "so that's the way the wind sets! My! I must say
that's the fakiest thing I ever heard about Mrs. Markham. We all know
that a medium's born. This dark room developin' seance work is bosh to
stall the dopes along. Still, Mrs. Markham has always played a lone
hand. She's never mixed with other mediums, which is why I'll be safe
in goin' into her house--she won't recognize me. Probably she's kept
some fool notions that the rest of us lost long ago. But the poor
little puss!"--her voice sank to a ripple--"the poor little puss!" Her
eyes grew tender, and tenderly they met the softened eyes of the young
man. "Just robbin' her of her girlhood! I wonder"--her voice grew
harder as she turned to practical consideration of the subject--"if
Mrs. Markham got the idea from them Yogis and adepts and things that
she mixed with in India. Just like 'em. They've got the real thing, but
they're little, crawling Dagoes with no more blood in 'em than a swarm
of horseflies."

"It is terrible to think of," said the sitter.

"You poor dear, I should say so!" responded Rosalie. "Of course, I see
what you want done. If I can prove that Mrs. Markham is a fake, then I
prove to the girl that it's all bosh about her not marrying. I can't
give you no encouragement as far as exposin' goes, seem' 's I know Mrs.
Markham is real, but if I'm on the ground, maybe I can fix it some
other way. How are you goin' to git me into the house?"

"This week," responded her co-conspirator, "Mrs. Markham will advertise
for a housekeeper. I suppose you can play housekeeper well enough to
keep the place a month, can't you?"

"If there's anythin' I can do," responded Rosalie, "it's keep house. Is
it a big house?