"In what way?"
"Partly by writing, partly by means of voices."
"Do you mean to say that the dead speak in voices audible to others than yourself?"
"Yes, your honor, they often speak so loud that any one may hear them. For the most part they whisper."
The prosecution again struck in. "These voices are a part of the trick, a part of her method of luring her victims on to do her will."
The judge turned to the complainant, Thomas Aiken, a dark-faced, sullen young man. "Have you heard these voices, Mr. Aiken?"
"No, sir; I never had a séance; but my sister has had a number of interviews with this woman. I know that in spite of the advice of her friends my grandmother has been induced to give away her money to this woman and to that scoundrel, Pettus. We have been robbed by her. It amounts to that, and we intend to stop it."
The judge turned back to Mrs. Ollnee. "Do you wish to be tried here and now on this charge?"
Mr. Bartol interposed. "No, your honor, we do not. This case is a very peculiar one. My client is a lady, as you may see, and should never have been brought into this court in this fashion. That she is a medium is probably true; but there is no evidence of deceit on her part. She assures me of her absolute faith in these Voices, and her manner carries conviction. Her friends believe in her also. She claims to be nothing more than the means of communication between this world and the world of the dead."
The judge smiled faintly. "That is claiming a good deal—from my point of view. What have you to say to that?" he demanded, turning again to the complainants.