“Truly, the real lapse of time is not to be reckoned by the beats of the clock, but only by sensations and heart-throbs. Mai, at the termination of the time specified, rose from his stool, took a small basket from his portmanteau, and then fearlessly seizing the things, one at a time, he carefully doubled up their legs under them, and placed them in it. Then taking the two crystal bottles already alluded to, he placed them lengthwise on the chart, with their necks and apertures facing each other, after which he resumed his seat upon the foot-stool, addressing no word or sign to the spectators of his movements. And now it began to grow dark! The jets of gas appeared to burn less clear and fully, just as if some one was slowly turning the cocks which let it on, with a gradual movement. In a little while the room was darkened, though not exactly dark, for there was still a dim half light—a sort of semi-blue, semi-dull red, misty radiance, just sufficient to enable us to distinguish objects vaguely, indistinct and dimly.
“ ‘Stir not! fear not!’ said the thick, husky voice of Vatterale; and before we could reply, a scene commenced, such as it hath seldom fallen to man’s lot to witness.
“ ‘Allow me to explain a modern mystery,’ said Vatterale, ‘but first let me remove your fears. Look!’
“Scarcely had he spoken these words, than the room was suddenly illuminated, as if the very air was aglow with the most brilliant light, and we saw the two bottles quite plainly. As we gazed upon these, there came from one the appearance of an enormous serpent, which proceeded to coil itself up, until its bulk thrice exceeded that of both the bottles. Then there came still another, and another, until no less than twelve lay there, coiled up in a loathsome pile; but as the last one emerged from one bottle, the first one entered the other, until all had disappeared as they had come.
“ ‘I will now show you that you cannot always trust your own senses,’ said Vatterale, ‘nor account for what you see;’ and he straightway emptied the basket, and broke the bottles. All three were empty! Not a sign of snake or scorpion was there!
“ ‘Again, I will show you a curious thing. You will please call a servant, seat her on one of those chairs, and bid her on a wager hold a skein of silk while it is being wound—merely to keep her attention—that is all. But,’ and he spoke very earnestly, ‘whatever you see or hear, I beg you will not utter a single word.’
“This was assented to; a skein of silk was ordered, but not till the gaslight had displaced the other.
“ ‘It will be just seventeen minutes before the girl is ready,’ said Mai; ‘and while waiting, I will demonstrate a fallacy. The creatures you have beheld to night are real, but ephemeral—they are Will-creations, and perish when the power ceases to act which called them into being. As proof of what I say, Behold!’
“From the floor in the eastern corner of the room there straightway begun to arise a light mist, which increased in bulk until a ball of vapor, three feet in diameter, floated in the air. Thus it remained for a minute; and then, right before our eyes, began to condense and change its shape, until at the end of four minutes, it had assumed a human semblance—but, Heavens! what a caricature!
“At first it was a mere vapory outline, but it rapidly condensed and consolidated, until what looked like a hideous, half-naked, bow-legged, splay-footed monster stood before us. Its height was less than three feet; its chest and body were nearly that in width; its legs were not over eight inches long; its arms were longer than its entire body; its head was gigantic; and it had no neck whatever, while from its horrible head there hung to the very ground the appearance of a tangled mass of wire-like worms. Its mouth was a fearful-looking red gash, extending to where ears should have been, but were not. Eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, lips or forehead, there were none whatever. Do not imagine that this creature was merely an appearance; it was not, for although born of vapor, in five minutes it became solid as iron, demonstrating the fact by stalking heavily across the floor right into the centre of the open space between us—the chains being dropped as it approached—where it stood, slowly swaying to and fro, as if its heart was heavy.