“If I were favored as you and Karl are, I should strive to cultivate my knowledge rather than retard its growth by needless alarm,” I said. “Luckily, in these days men have learnt to inquire causes instead of falling flat on their faces in superstitious awe when they encounter some new trick of nature. It is only a few months since a patient, lying in a hospital ward containing a crucifix, had a complete facsimile of the sacred image imprinted on the skin of his shoulder during a thunderstorm. More recently, a man bathing in the sea, running for shelter when a storm broke, was struck by lightning. When picked up, a perfect photograph of a neighboring building was found on his breast. Now, these incidents are rightly regarded as exceedingly interesting, but they are neither supernatural nor conducive to insanity. Nature acted as a photographer, dispensing with the tripod, the camera, and the black cloth. That is all.” “It is a good deal,” said Maggie, a trifle awestricken, but nevertheless pleased, I thought, to know that others than herself were subjected to disturbing phenomena. Not far distant was sitting a lady of pronounced shapeliness rendered impressive by her exceedingly décolleté dress. I recognized in her the widow of a wealthy provision merchant. I pointed her out to my companion. “The pity is that such genuine lightning effects are so rare,” I said. “Otherwise our adipose friend there, passing one of her late husband’s shops some day, might be indelibly branded ‘Best Home-cured Bacon’ across the broad of her back.” A harmless joke of that kind, even as the humble necessary worm, can serve a useful purpose. Maggie was kind enough to laugh, and we dropped from the clouds forthwith. Mrs. Hutchinson joined us, but her daughter was so quiet--being ordinarily a lively girl, with all a girl’s readiness to quiz good-humoredly her neighbors’ dresses and looks--that the sharp maternal scrutiny quickly detected her abstracted air. So there was nothing for it but an adjournment to our sitting-room, where, after prolonged conclave, we decided that Maggie should not only decline Steindal’s help, but place herself in the hands of ---- another agent, and risk the Polish-Jew’s hostility. Again, when Karl’s murder was being spoken of--though I attributed little weight to the love-sick Armenian’s threats--it was essential that his father should be taken into our counsels. By this time I was as convinced of the reliability of these telegnomic sights and sounds as of the existence of animalculæ invisible to the naked eye but seen through a microscope. Early next morning I telegraphed to my friend, Grier senior, asking him to come to London on important business. I also cabled to a firm in New York, saying it would oblige me if they ascertained definitely whether or not Mr. Paul Constantine sailed from that port during the following day.