The psychic now began to twist and moan and struggle, choking, gasping in such evident suffering that Mrs. Cameron cried out: "Mr. Garland, don't you hear? She is ill! Let me go to her!"
"Don't be alarmed," I replied. "This struggle almost always precedes her strongest manifestations. It seems cruel to say so, but, remember, Mrs. Smiley has been through these paroxysms hundreds of times. It appears very painful and exhausting, but she has assured me that 'they' take care of her. She suffers almost no ill effects from her trance."
Miller, living up to his character as remorseless scientist, remarked: "I'd like to control her hands. Shall I try?"
"Not now, not till the 'guides' consent to it," I replied. "It is said to be dangerous to the psychic to touch her unexpectedly."
"I can understand that it might be inconvenient," remarked Harris, with biting brevity.
Again we sat in expectant silence until several of the group became restless. "What is she about now?" asked Cameron, wearily.
"She is in dead trance, apparently. Please be patient a little while longer. Are you still with us, 'Wilbur'?"
I was delighted to hear the three taps that answer "Yes."
"Will you be able to do something more for us?"