"Exhibits A and B"; he waved his hand toward the two objects. "I
wanted you to see these in order to convince you that I have neither
been dreaming, nor am I the victim of an aberration."

Then with great care and endeavouring to maintain a semblance of
self-possession, he described his recent experience, omitting no
single detail that he could recall. He showed them exactly where and
how he had been sitting, and followed every movement made by Edestone,
even to the ripping of the glass from the portrait of the King, until
finally, as if overcome by the strain that he had put upon himself to
appear perfectly calm, he ended with a nervous little laugh.

"Will you look at the inscription on that blooming old cannon-ball? It
really seems quite spooky."

Graves moved forward and thoughtfully examined the split table and the
rusty old relic of Valley Forge, but Rockstone did not offer to stir.
With what was almost a sneer on his face he met the challenging glance
of his younger confrere.

"I would not have believed, Underhill," he said impatiently, "that you
with your experience with the fakirs of India could have been taken in
by so old a trick." He half-closed his eyes as if to indicate that for
him at least the incident was closed.

Underhill frowned. "You are wrong, Rockstone," he exclaimed
impulsively. "This man is no faker, nor am I so easily imposed upon as
you seem to think. I tell you that we are called upon to deal with a
new agency that can neither be disputed nor sneered away, and unless