After all is said and done, pretty Miss Margaret is making music her profession, the Darjeeling tea-garden not having proved a great success; and what chance does Karl, with his visions, stand against Steindal, the concert director of international fame? For the great “Wilhelm” has risen from the dramatic agency in which Hooper had heard of him to the higher level of controlling the _maestri_, _prime donne_, and other prodigies of that strange world which finds all its inspiration in the first seven letters of the alphabet. His influence is so far-reaching, his verdict accepted so unhesitatingly by managers and publishers, that not many stars in the musical firmament can move in orbits apart from Steindal. For a novice to attain notoriety without his assistance would be almost impossible. Both mother and daughter have already been taught by bitter experience that one must move circumspectly where such a man is concerned, and, above all things, not dare to interfere with plans he has made for professional advancement. So, when Karl would urge Maggie to refuse the highly advantageous offer made by Steindal’s London agent--who had actually come from London to press it on his client’s acceptance--both the girl and her mother must regard him as somewhat akin to a lunatic. The more mysteriously accurate the statements he made concerning recent events on the other side of the Atlantic, the less the ladies would regard their value from the common-sense point of view. Mrs. Hutchinson, of course, remembered the escape from death she and her husband, and probably her child, owed to Karl’s intervention years ago in India. But that was a “strange dream,” a “queer coincidence,” and any one who permitted her life to be governed by such supernatural revelations must either be distinguished by Providence outside the plane of ordinary mortals or be qualifying speedily for the “dangerous” ward in an asylum. All this, and more, did I set forth temperately before my young friends. They agreed with me, Hooper completely, and Grier with reservations. “My advice is that you ask your mother to communicate with Mrs. Hutchinson and her daughter,” I said. “It will surely follow that you all meet in London or elsewhere, and you will have no difficulty in leading up to a disclosure of your knowledge in what may be described as a reasonable and convincing manner. They will be surprised, of course, but they will be forewarned if evil is contemplated. It is not that Steindal’s help will be injurious to Miss Hutchinson. He has brought out a great many eminent artistes, and the public regard his introduction of a newcomer as a sort of hallmark on precious metal. Moreover, long before any nefarious plot can mature, you may have information of a far more convincing sort.”