ps compressed as if in some tense effort of
self-control.

When she looked at the cabinet again she could see that some movement
had begun again behind the curtains, for these swayed and jerked
convulsively, as if some person with but little room was moving there.
And she could hear now, as the gusts outside lulled for a moment, the
steady rather stertorous breathing of the medium. Then once again the
wind gathered strength outside; the rain tore at the glass like a
streaming handful of tiny pebbles, and the great curtains at her side
lifted and sighed in the draught through the shutters.

When it quieted again the breathing had become a measured moaning, as
that which a dreaming dog emits at the end of each expiration; and she
herself drew a long trembling breath, overwhelmed by the sense of some
struggle in the room such as she had not experienced before.

It was impossible for her to express this even to herself; yet the
perception was clear--as clear as some presentment of the senses. She
knew during those moments, as she watched the swaying curtains of the
cabinet in the shaded light that fell upon them, and heard now and
again that low moan from behind them, that some kind of stress lay
upon something that was new to her in this connection. For the time
she forgot her undertone of anxiety as to this boy at her side, and a
curious terrified excitement took its place. Once, even then, she
glanced at him again, and saw the motionless profile watching, always
watching....

Then in an instant the climax came, and this is what she saw.

* * * * *

The commotion of the curtains ceased suddenly, and they hung in
straight folds from roof to floor of the little cabinet. Then they
gently parted--she saw the long fingers that laid hold of them--and
the form of a person came out, descended the single step, and stood on
the floor before her eyes, in the plain candlelight, not four steps
away.

It was the figure of a young girl, perfectly formed in all its parts,
swathed in some light stuff resembling muslin that fell almost to the
feet and shrouded the upper part of the head. Her hands were clasped
across her breast, her bare feet were visible against the dark floor,
and her features were unmistakably clear. There was a certain beauty
in the face--in the young lips, the open eyes, and the dark lines of
the brows over them; and the complexion was waxen, clear as of a
blonde. But, as the ob