“Marvellous!” said Malone. “But what is amiss?”
Both husband and wife poured out their sorrows.
“What a dirty business!” cried Malone, with disgust. “I am sure the public does not realise how this law is enforced, or there would be a row. This agent-provocateur business is quite foreign to British justice. But in any case, Linden, you are a real medium. The law was made to suppress false ones.”
“There are no real mediums in British law,” said Linden ruefully. “I expect the more real you are the greater the offence. If you are a medium at all and take money you are liable. But how can a medium live if he does not take money? It’s a man’s whole work and needs all his strength. You can’t be a carpenter all day and a first-class medium in the evening.”
“What a wicked law! It seems to be deliberately stifling all physical proofs of spiritual power.”
“Yes, that is just what it is. If the Devil passed a law it would be just that. It is supposed to be for the protection of the public and yet no member of the public has ever been known to complain. Every case is a police trap. And yet the police know as well as you or I that every Church charity garden-party has got its clairvoyante or its fortune-teller.”
“It does seem monstrous. What will happen now?”
“Well, I expect a summons will come along. Then a police court case. Then fine or imprisonment. It’s the second time, you see.”
“Well, your friends will give evidence for you and we will have a good man to defend you.”
Linden shrugged his shoulders.