The House of Mystery: An Episode in the Career of Rosalie Le Grange, Clairvoyant

n. Of course you must come to see me. I want Aunt Paula to know that all the complimentary things I have sa

dia

TE MA

ike. True, he failed to extract any important information from the name of the stationer, which he found under the flap of the envelope; but on the other hand the paper itself distinctly pleased him. It was note-size a

of his modesty, he was thinking not of his white tie-fifth that he had ruined in the process of dressing-nor yet of the s

ke?" he asked inaudibly of th

nage; a masculine and severe old woman with the "spook" look in her eyes; a fluttering, affected precieuse, concealing her quackery by chatter. Gradually

al Park. The thing assumed the proportions of a great adventure. No old preparation for battle, no old packings to break into the unknown dark, had ever given him

ly by minor differences of doors and steps and area rails, from twenty others on the same blo

to deal in spooks,"

d velours which had faded just enough to take off the curse; it was not the three or four passable old paintings. The real cause came first to him upon the contemplation of a wonderful Buddhist priest-robe which adorned the wall just where the drawing-room met the curtains of the little rear alcove-library. The difference lay in the ornaments-Oriental, mostly East Ind

dress, her neck showing a faint rim of tan above her girlish decolletage; Annette smiling rather formally as though this conventional passage after their unconventional me

e back in the city rather earlie

lation exactly where they left it off-professional because of her appearance. Not only was she pale

ed no assistant to the resident physician-he thought it best to hurry his search for an opening in New York before the winter should set in. The

you may guess a

-the-world air, quite different

n, I suppose. It open

"It's nice that you could come to-night. Looking for a practice must make so many calls on your time. I shouldn't hav

friends this winter." Deliberately he emphasized the word. "I hope nothing has happ

s mind her "society shell" seemed to melt away from her. S

n the memory o

e came over her. Those lids, like curtains drawn by stealth over what must not be revealed, sank half

adow, fell across his spirit. He became conscious

ng in the doorway

the face. She had a magnificent physique, preserved splendidly into the very heart of middle age; yet her foot had made no sound in her approach. Her black velvet draperies trailed heavy on the floor, yet they produced not the ghost of a rustle. Jet-black hair coiled in ropes, y

rs. Markham seated herself. She turned her light eyes upon him. He

ture; "I can't thank you enough for being kind to my little girl. So good in you to bother about her when"-Aunt Paula

eight-and that, according to 'Peter Ibbertson,' is about the nicest age." Well, Annette at least regarded him as a contemporary! He found h

e in Annette's case. She is so little interested in men. It real

ough the conversation failed to interest her, had fallen into a position o

rouse herself a little. "What is it

ce. "I was saying," she repeated, speaking distinctly as one d

tly true," An

r size and type. "You'll find this an Adam-less Eden, Dr. Blake. I'

onologue in which he accused his sex of every possible failing, ending with a triumphant eulogy of the other half of creation. But Mrs.

urned to the la

e yet. But of course no seasoned orientalist has any idea of dying without see

that she was a little irritated. "I assure you we did not stir out of the convention

ou got it? Have you ever noticed what bully travelers' tales you get out of adventures in bargaining? Or bett

t confess that I did nothing more wonderful than to walk

ake said menta

ith something of the old resiliency in her tone. "Auntie, do tell Dr. Blake about some of y

mself; "Ha, ha, and ho, ho! I bet you

running away with you. Whenever we arrived anywhere, of course, like anybody else, I called at Government House and the authorities there always put me in the way of seeing whatever

ake co

te the small stings, the myriad minor goads, by which it became established in his mind that his call was not a success, that he was boring the two ladies whom he was trying so hard to entertain. At the end, it was a labored dialogue between him and Mrs. Markham. Again and again, he tried to drag Annette into the conversation. She was tongue-tied. The best she did was to give him the impression that, deep down in her tired psychology, sh