Weissmann came in late, looking old and worn. He, too, had passed a
restless night. He nodded curtly to his assistant and set to work
without reference to the sitting or the psychic; and yet Morton was
very sure his chief's mind was as profoundly engaged as his own, and a
little later in the forenoon he stopped at his desk and said: "Lunch,
with me, doctor; I have asked Tolman, and I want to talk things over
with you both."
Weissmann consented in blunt abstraction, and the work proceeded quite
in the regular routine so far as he was concerned.
Tolman was the farthest remove from the traditional mesmerist in
appearance, being a brisk, blond man of exceeding neatness and taste
in dress. He wore the most fashionable clothing, his hair and beard
were in perfect order, and his hands were very beautiful. He was,
indeed, vain of his slender fingers and gesticulated overmuch. His
voice also was a little over-assertive, but his eyes were clear,
steady, and strong.
As they took seats in the cheerful sunlit dining-room of the Mid-day
Club, the three theorists formed a notable group and one that
attracted general comment, but their conversation would have
astonished the easygoing publishers and professional men who were
chatting at neighboring tables, so full of interrogation and assertion
was each specialist.
As Tolman rose to speak to a friend at a table across the room,
Weissmann confidentially remarked: "I did not sleep last night, not a
wink. I could not satisfy myself about those performances. Therefore I
smoked and studied. Last night's test proved nothing to me except that
the girl had nothing to do with the phenomena."
The young man's heart glowed at these words and he feelingly replied.
"To prove that would mean a great deal to me, doctor."
Weissmann's tired face lighted up. "So! Then you are interested in
her? You love her? I was right, eh?" he asked, with true German
directness.
Serviss protested. "Oh no! I haven't said that; but it troubled me to
think of her as a possible trickster. Please don't hint such a thing
in Tolman's hearing."
As the hypnotist returned to his seat, Serviss opened up the special
discussion by asking him his opinion of the claims of spiritualists.
This question threw Tolman into a roar. "That from you, and in the
presence of Weissmann, is a 'facer'! What has come over Morton
Serviss that he should invite me to a lunch to talk over a case of
hysterico-epilepsy, and start in by asking my opinion of spiritualism?
Come, now, out with the real question."
Serviss perceived the folly of any subterfuge, and briefly presented
Viola's history, without naming her, of course, and ended by
describing in detail the sitting of the night before, while Tolman ate
imperturbably at his chop and toast with only now and then a word or a
keen glance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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