"The Doctor requested me to write on seven slips of paper, one on each slip, the names of six acquaintances, five of whom were living and the sixth dead. On the seventh my own name was to be written. I had never seen the Doctor before, and have no reason to suppose that he had ever seen me. I used my own pencil in writing the names, and wrote upon paper furnished by the city and county for the use of his Honor the Mayor. When writing the names I was twenty feet away from the Doctor, and as I wrote upon each slip I folded it up carefully, so that I myself could not see anything of the writing, nor tell one of the seven slips from the others. Five of the names were those of intimate personal friends, the sixth of a man whom I knew in a business way, but for whom, while I was not at all intimate with him, I had always a great regard. This man is dead, and has been so for a couple of years. "In obedience to the Doctor's request, I placed the seven slips on the table. Taking the hand of Mr. Barnes, I holding the hand of the latter, the Doctor proceeded to take the slips one by one from the table. The first he held a second and dropped. The second he handed to me saying, 'This contains your name.' Upon opening it I found the Doctor to be correct, and asking him what my name was he promptly told us. "I confess I was a little mystified, but the Doctor didn't stop there. Continuing, he picked up the other slips until the fifth one had been reached. 'This is the name of your dead friend. His name is V. C. W. Hooker--not exactly, but a name very similar. I can't quite make it out. He says he will talk to you at another time.' As you saw when I opened the slip it showed as I had written it the name of V. C. W. Hooper, a man who was quite prominent in Merced during his lifetime. Just how the Doctor found that out I leave to others who were there to explain when they have time after accounting for the mysterious things that happened to themselves. I cannot and will not pretend to. It was not mind-reading, however. Of that I am satisfied. For as he picked up the fifth slip and said, 'This is the name of the dead man,' he did not get that information by reading my mind, for there were two more slips remaining, and I couldn't say which was which. That is beyond any explanation. Mind-reading will not fit it at all. "One of the party--I think it was Mr. Barnes--wrote the name of _two_ dead men in his list. Leaving out the first problem--the picking up of the right slip--putting that aside, how is it to be explained that the Doctor chose the right name of the two dead ones? Mr. Barnes did not know. He had not opened the slip; therefore the Doctor could not read his mind. For myself, I give up the conundrum. "Very truly. "H. H. MCCLOSKEY." CHAPTER IV. CHARACTER OF THE NARRATORS.