“Not necessarily,” she replied. “It is more important that everyone be in sympathy.”
The girls laid their hands upon the table as the woman directed, their finger-tips barely resting on its surface. They sat perfectly quiet for nearly ten minutes; no one broke the spell by so much as a smile. Then the medium passed one hand lightly across her forehead, saying:
“I am getting in touch with the spirit world. When the table begins to move, you may ask questions. The table’s moving up and down three times will signify ‘yes’; once, ‘no.’ Do not ask your questions too quickly after the table first moves; give me time to establish perfect communication.”
Marjorie, who sat across the table from the medium, kept her gaze fixed intently upon the woman’s face. She, for one, was not in sympathy with her, and was watching closely for some evidence of quackery.
For some moments more they waited patiently. At last they were rewarded by a faint rocking of the table. The motion was repeated several times, and then Marjorie spoke.
“Are we wrong to be here tonight?” she asked.
Before there was any answering movement from the table, the sound of three distinct knocks was heard. Instantly the girls became alert, tense, apprehensive; and Marjorie, whose gaze had never left the medium’s face, saw her start violently and open her eyes for an instant.
“One knock for ‘No,’ three for ‘yes’”; announced the medium, in a solemn tone.
Marjorie continued the questioning. She was anxious to find out whence the sound was coming. From all indications, she believed its source to be the cellar.
“Will it be dangerous for the girls to sleep here tomorrow night?”