"Pooh! You are no judge of women, in spite of all your experience," Hamar retorted. "I'll bet you anything you like she'll come round and make a tremendous fuss of me." "Supposing you fall in love with her, how about the compact?" Kelson asked. "You've warned me often enough." "Oh, but I'm not like you," Hamar replied. "There's nothing soft in my nature. I fall in love! Not much! Why, you might as well have apprehensions of my joining the Salvation Army, or wanting to become a Militant Suffragette--either would be just about as possible. No--! I shall make the girl love me--and we shall be engaged for just as long as I please. If I find some one that attracts me more, I shall throw her aside--if not, maybe, I shall marry her--but in either case there will be no question of love--at least not on my part. She shall do as I want--that is all! Hulloa! Curtis is beginning again." There were five other tricks on the programme--all of which were world renowned. They were "The Floating Head"; "The Mango Seed"; "The Haunted Bathing-machine," "The Girl with the Five Eyes," and "The Vanishing Bicycle" illusion. As with the first two tricks, so Curtis did with the following five--he explained them, and then, aided by Hamar and Kelson, gave practical demonstrations of their solutions; and so thoroughly and clearly were these solutions demonstrated that the referees asked no questions--they were absolutely satisfied. Turning to the audience--at a sign from Curtis--they announced that the whole of Messrs. Martin and Davenport's tricks had been solved to their entire satisfaction, and that Messrs. Hamar, Curtis and Kelson of the Modern Sorcery Company Ltd. had, without doubt, won the wager. "Have you anything to say?" Curtis asked, addressing John Martin. "I acknowledge my defeat, though I do not understand it!" John Martin said with very white lips. "I shall pay you the ten thousand pounds to-night." "Don't worry about that," Hamar interposed; "we don't want to take your money, all we wanted to do was to prove to you we could perform the tricks you believed to be insoluble. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he went on, raising his voice, "the Modern Sorcery Company Ltd. has given you some proof to-night of their capabilities in the conjuring line, and if you will give us the pleasure of your company to-morrow night--we invite you all free of charge for the occasion--we will give you a still further demonstration of our powers. May we count upon your patronage?" A terrific storm of clapping was the reply, and as the audience slowly filed from the hall, John Martin staggered into the wing, reeled past Gladys ere she could catch him, and sank helplessly on to the floor. CHAPTER XIII THE MODERN SORCERY COMPANY LTD. GIVE A GRATIS PERFORMANCE