Morton moved about the girl with growing excitement, a subtle fire mounting to his brain each time his fingers touched her smooth, round wrists. Once she said, "I have never had a real test like this—this is what I wanted you to do. If anything happens now it will be outside of me, won't it?"
"We must be cruel in order to be kind," he answered, enigmatically.
At last Weissmann stood clear of her. "Now we are ready," he said, beaming with satisfaction. "You see I lock this door and here is the key." He held it up in confirmation. "I pocket the key. Now what?"
"Turn down the gas," replied Clarke. "Do not use electricity—the room must be perfectly dark."
"Why perfectly dark? I don't like that." Weissmann spoke with manifest irritation. "We should be able to see something."
Clarke shrugged his shoulders. "You can do as you wish. The guides say their manifestations are antagonized by light—and that darkness is necessary for these special phenomena of the cone."
"Oh, we have no cone!" exclaimed Mrs. Lambert.
"Cone? What cone?" asked Weissmann.
"We need some sort of megaphone to enlarge the spirit-voices."
"Make one of card-board," suggested Viola. "Any sort of horn will do."