"The most remarkable thing about the whole affair," added Delapine, "is that Mr. Funk happened to be the only man present at the séances who had ever heard of the Widow's Mite, and he had not the slightest conception of any of the facts which George had told him through the medium. The incident had occurred nine years before, and the whole history of the coin had not only passed completely out of his mind, but the fact, which George told him about it, was entirely new to him. Hence it was out of the question that the medium could have read his mind. How then are we to account for this revelation except by some intelligence on the other side of the Veil?" "It must have been a put-up job--in fact a case of fraud, or else one of forgetfulness," said Duval. "No, my dear sir, that is impossible. Forgetfulness has nothing to do with it, as Mr. Funk was certain that his instructions to return the coin had been carried out to the letter. Why, even the owners of the coin never knew it was missing. Besides, no one except the cashier ever had access to the safe, and they had never known or even seen the medium." "Ah, Pierre," replied Villebois, laughing, "confess that Delapine has fairly answered your objection." "Well then," said Duval, nettled at the defeat of his argument, "it must have been a case of coincidence, that is certain." "That explanation won't hold water. As far as I know this is the only private coin of its kind in the world, and, excepting a few numismatic specialists, no one knew of its existence. How could George have guessed the exact place where the person lived who had to receive the coin, when you consider the millions of likely places to choose from? And how could he have pointed out the exact spot where the coin was to be found, a spot where no one ever dreamt of looking for it? And lastly, when the two coins were found, why should George have named the black one, when no one in the circle except Mr. Funk was aware that there was a black one?" "Bravo, bravo, professor," cried Riche, "these lawyers are very shrewd, but they lack scientific training. Ah! Monsieur Duval, you have met your match at last. Coincidence is clearly ruled out of the court in this case." Pierre's pride would not allow him to admit the validity of Delapine's argument, although he felt its force. "I have it," exclaimed Riche, "If it was not a fraud or coincidence there is only one thing left to explain it, _viz._, telepathy or clairvoyance. Both Mr. Funk and the cashier knew that the coin had been borrowed, and it was the subconscious memory of one or the other of them which influenced the medium."