Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

550 be annoyed with me, but I really can’t! Maybe everything you say is true. Maybe every inch of the space we move through is crowded with spirits, and maybe it’s as easy to establish communication with Ju- lius Cesar as it is to call up the telephone operator. But all that was not exactly what I wanted your help about. I’ll admit that I have a strong natural aversion for belief in the supernatural. I believe that if ap- parently supernormal phenomena exist their cause can—must be traced to some natural law, not previously recognized, perhaps, but as fixed and actually natural as the law of gravitation. “Now I know, Aunt Jane, that you’ve had some rather curious experiences of your own. You told me about them last year, and if I seemed to take them lightly may God forgive me, for what I have been through the last few nights— But never mind that now. You told me that you had seen some sort of visions, and heard voices—” “YT talked with your grandfather’s ghost,”’ interpolated his aunt with abrupt firmness. “Very well. You talked with grandfa- ther’s ghost. According to that, Aunt Jane, you must be what you spiritualists term ‘sensitive.’ Now, with all due respect and apologies, I haven’t sufficient faith in the veracity of a professional medium to trust one. of them with a certain experiment I want made. In the case of this box ’—he eyed the green thing that lay across his knees, and shuddered slightly—‘ in the case of this box any one who is even slightly ‘ sensitive ’ in the sense we mean should be able to prove or disprove my theory.” “What is it about the box that has troubled you so much, Jack?” His aunt’s voice was suddenly as as kind- ly and sympathetic as it had formerly been didactic. “T would rather not tell you just yet. Miss Robinson and I wish to find out some- thing about its history. I’ve heard that a medium can sometimes—er—tell the his- tory of an object merely by touching it—”’ “ But I don’t at all pretend to be a me- dium, Jack.” ‘“Miss Fellowes,’’ interposed Leilah, THE ARGOSY. ‘““won’t you please at least try to help us out? If you knew—if you could by any possibility guess the frightful—frightful— horrors—”’ Her voice trembled and she broke off, biting at her lips. Miss Fellowes looked surprised; the sympathy in her brown eyes deepened. ‘Why, you poor children! I had no idea there was anything very dreadful attached to the affair. Certainly, I’ll do all I can to help. But you mustn’t give way to fear, child. There is nothing in the spirit world to harm you. Sometimes people are harmed, but they are injured by their own fright, not by any evil influence. I myself have learned to fear nothing. I think I can truthfully say, Miss Robinson, that there is nothing in this world or the other of which I am afraid!” She looked it, too, sitting bolt upright, shoulders back, sternly severe save for the betraying kindliness in her bright brown eyes. Somehow for all her talk of spirits there was a matter-of-fact practicality about Miss Jane Fellowes which made her very presence reassuring. ‘Exactly what did you wish me to do, Jack? - Of course, you mustn’t expect me to go into a trance. As I said before, I don’t even pretend to be a real psychic.” “Well, you might take the box in your hands to begin with. And then if you—er —see anything, you can describe it to us.” Despite recent experiences, Vanaman was feeling rather foolish over the affair. He wished the idea of asking his aunt to come on had never occurred to him. Very me- thodically she was removing her black silk gloves, rolling them up and placing them in her hand-bag. Her hands, Leilah ob- served, were beautiful; not the kind of hands one expected from those stern, almost harsh features. Long, slender, delicate, there was temperament in every line of them. “Tl take it now, Jack.” Fascinated, Leilah watched as the doctor half reluctantly placed his detested charge in the hands extended to receive it. What would come of this? Was there any chance that they were about to learn the dread secret which made that clouded, emerald- mM (SO) NOOK