feet. I had to do a bit of scratching about; but remember, I
could see perfectly, and I felt sure the knife was in the charred
and blackened rubbish, so I just hunted till I found it. That's
all."

"Well, it does sound simple and easy as you tell it, but, believe
me, Hanlon, I appreciate the cleverness of the thing and the real
work you went through in preparation for it all," Hendricks said,
heartily, and the other men added words of admiration and
approval.

But Miss Ames was distinctly displeased.

"I wouldn't mind, if you'd advertised it as a trick," she said,
in an injured tone, "as, say, the conjurors do such tricks, but
everybody knows they're fooling their audience. It is expected."

"Yes, lady," Hanlon smiled, "but the fake mediums and
spirit-raisers, they don't say they're frauds--but they are."

"Sir, you don't know what you're talking about! Just because
there are some tricksters in that, as in all professions, you
must not denounce them all."

"They're all fakes, lady," and Hanlon's air of sincerity carried
conviction to all but Aunt Abby.

"How do you know?" she demanded angrily.

"I've looked into it--I've looked into all sorts of stunts like