into a positive fury of passion.
Her eyes blazed, and her mouth took a hard, cruel tension which was new
to me. Instinctively she stepped towards Silvio as if to interfere in
the attack. But I too had stepped forward; and as she caught my eye a
strange spasm came upon her, and she stopped. Its intensity made me
hold my breath; and I put up my hand to clear my eyes. When I had done
this, she had on the instant recovered her calm, and there was a look
of brief wonder on her face. With all her old grace and sweetness she
swept over and lifted Silvio, just as she had done on former occasions,
and held him in her arms, petting him and treating him as though he
were a little child who had erred.

As I looked a strange fear came over me. The Margaret that I knew
seemed to be changing; and in my inmost heart I prayed that the
disturbing cause might soon come to an end. More than ever I longed at
that moment that our terrible Experiment should come to a prosperous
termination.

When all had been arranged in the room as Mr. Trelawny wished he turned
to us, one after another, till he had concentrated the intelligence of
us all upon him. Then he said:

"All is now ready in this place. We must only await the proper time to
begin."

We were silent for a while. Doctor Winchester was the first to speak:

"What is the proper time? Have you any approximation, even if you are
not satisfied as to the exact day?" He answered at once:

"After the most anxious thought I have fixed on July 31!"

"May I ask why that date?" He spoke his answer slowly:

"Queen Tera was ruled in great degree by mysticism, and there are so
many evidences that she looked for resurrection that naturally she
would choose a period ruled over by a God specialised to such a
purpose. Now, the fourth month of the season of Inundation was ruled
by Harmachis, this being the name for 'Ra', the Sun-God, at his rising
in the morning, and therefore typifying the awakening or arising. This
arising is manifestly to physical life, since it is of the mid-world of
human daily life. Now as this month begins on our 25th July, the
seventh day would be July 31st, for you may be sure that the mystic
Queen would not have chosen any day but the seventh or some power of
seven.

"I dare say that some of you have wondered why our preparations have
been so deliberately undertaken. This is why! We must be ready in
every possible way when the time comes; but there was