"No. 5. In the above preparation after the test described, soak a
hazel twig, fashioned in the shape of a fork. On meeting a child
hold the fork with the V downwards in front of its face, and if
the child exhibits violence and signs of terror, and falls down,
the experiment is successful.

"No. 6. Take a couple of handfuls of fine soil from over the spot
where some four-footed animal has recently been buried. Put it in
a tin vessel, mix with it three ounces of assafoetida and one
drachm of quassia chips, to which add a death's-head moth
(_Acherontia atropos_). Heat the vessel over a wood fire for three
hours. Then remove it and place it on the hearth, rake out the
fire and make the room absolutely dark. Keep watch beside the
vessel, and if, at the second hour after midnight, any strange
phenomena occur, the test will be known to have been
satisfactorily executed.

"(_Addendum_) If any of these tests fail the candidate must wait
for six months before giving them a further trial, and he must
occupy the interim by training his thoughts in the manner already
prescribed. But if, on the other hand, the tests have been
successfully performed, he can proceed with the rites appertaining
to the Black Art."

Hamar had read so far when, with a gesture of impatience, he closed
the book. "What a fool I am!" he exclaimed, "to waste my time with
such stuff!... But Maitland writes in such a devilish convincing way!
Jerusalem! Any straw is good enough for the drowning man, and if
witchcraft and sorcery with motors dashing by every second and the
whole air alive with wireless and telephones, is a bit beyond my