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Problem of the Crystal Gazer by Jacques
Poutrelle. With hideous, goggling eyes,

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the great god Bud sat crossed legged
on a pedestal and stared stolidly into the

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semi darkness. He saw, by
the wavering light of a peacock lamp,

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which swooped down from the ceiling with
wings outstretched, what might have been a

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nook in a palace of East India. Draperies hung here there everywhere, richly

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embroidered divans sprawled about. Fierce tiger
rugs glared up from the floor. Grotesque

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idols grinned mirthlessly in unexpected corners.
Strange arms were grouped on the walls.

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Outside, the trolley cars clang blatantly. The single human figure with the distinct

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contradiction of all else it was that
of a man in evening dress, smoking.

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He was fifty perhaps sixty years old, with the ruddy color of one

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who has lived a great deal out
of doors. There was only a touch

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of gray in his abundant hair in
a dash. His eyes were steady and

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clear and indolent. For a long
time he sat. Then the draperies to

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his right parted, and a girl
entered. She was a part of the

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picture of which the man was a
contradiction. Her lustrous black hair flowed about

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her shoulders, lambent, mysteries lay
in her eyes. Her dress was the

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dress of the East. For a
moment she stood looking at the man,

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and then entered with light tread.
Verik, Sahib, she said, timidly,

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as if it were a greeting.
Do I intrude? Her voice was

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softly guttural, with the accent of
her native tongue. Oh, no,

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Jada, come in, said the
man. She smiled frankly and sat down

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on a hassock near him. My
brother, she asked, he is in

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the cabinet. Verick had merely glanced
at her, and then continued his thoughtful

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gaze into vacancy. From time to
time she looked up at him shyly,

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with a touch of eagerness, but
there was no answering interest in his manner.

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His thoughts were far away. May
I ask what brings you this time,

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sahib? She inquired, at last, A little deal in the market,

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responded Verrek carelessly. It seems to
have puzzled odd to him as much

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as it did me. He has
been in the cabinet for half an hour.

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He stared on musingly as he smoked, then dropped his eyes to the

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slender, graceful figure of Jade.
With knees clasped in her hands. She

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leaned back on the hassock, deeply
thoughtful. Her head was tilted upward,

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and the flickering light fell full on
her face. It crossed Verick's mind that

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she was pretty, and he was
about to say so, as he would

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have said to any other woman,
when the curtains behind them were thrown apart

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and they both glanced around. Another
man, an East Indian entered. This

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man was odd him sing the crystal
gazer and the ostentatious robes of a seer.

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He too was part of the picture. There was an expression of apprehension

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mingled with some other impalpable quality on
his strong face. Well vad him inquired,

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Verek, I have seen strange things, Sahib, replied the seer solemnly.

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The crystal tells me of danger.
Danger, repeated Verec, with a

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slight lifting of his brows. Oh, well, in that case, I

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shall keep out of it. Not
danger to your business, Sahib. The

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crystal gazer went on with troubled face, but danger in another way. The

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girl Jada, looked at him with
quick startled eyes and asked some question in

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her native tongue. He answered in
the same language, and she rose suddenly

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with terror stricken face, to fling
herself at Vierek's feet, weeping. Verec

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seemed to understand too, and looked
at the seer in apprehension death. He

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exclaimed, what do you mean?
Adim was silent for a moment and bowed

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his head respectfully before the steady,
inquiring gaze of the white man. Pardon,

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Sahib, he said, at last, I did not remember that you

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understood my language. What is it? Insisted Verik abruptly tell me I cannot,

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Sahib. You must, declared the
other he had arisen commandingly, you

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must. The crystal Gazer crossed to
him and stood for an instant with his

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hand on the white man's shoulder and
his eyes studying the fear he found in

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the white man's face. The crystal
Sahib, he began, It tells me

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that that no no brother, pleaded
the girl. Go on, Verreck commanded,

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it grees me to say that which
will pain one whom I love as

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I do you, Sahib. Said
the seer slowly. Perhaps you would rather

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see for yourself. Well let me
see, then, said Verick. Is

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it in the crystal, yes,
by the grace of the gods. But

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I can't see anything there. Verick
remembered, I've tried scores of times.

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I believe this will be different,
Sahib said, add him quietly, can

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you stand a shock? Verrec shook
himself a little impatiently, of course,

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he replied, yes, yes,
a very serious shock. Again, there

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was an impatient twist of Veric's shoulders. Yes, I can stand anything,

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he exclaimed shortly. What is it? Let me see. He strode toward

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that point in the draperies where Adham
had entered, while the girl on her

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knees sought with entreating hands to stop
him. No, no, no,

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she pleaded, No, don't do
that. Very expostulated in annoyance, But

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gently he stooped and lifted her to
her feet. I am not a child

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or a fool. He threw aside
the curtains. As they fell softly behind

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him. He heard a pitiful little
cry of grief from Jada and set his

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teeth together hard. He stood in
the crystal cabinet. It was somewhat larger

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than an ordinary closet, and had
been made him pay inetable to the light

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by hangings of black velvet. For
a while, he stood still so that

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his eyes might become accustomed to the
utter blackness, and gradually the sinister,

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fascinating crystal ball appeared faintly visible by
its own mystic luminosity. It rested on

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a pedestal of black velvet. Vreck
was accustomed to his surroundings. He had

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been in the cabinet many times.
Now. He dropped down onto a stool

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in front of the table where on
the crystal lay, and leaned forward on

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his arms, staring into its limpid
depths, unblinking. For one, two,

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three minutes, he sat there with
his thoughts in chaos. After a

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while, there came a change in
the ball. It seemed to glow with

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a growing light other than its own. Suddenly it darkened completely, and out

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of this utter darkness grew shadowy,
vague forms to which he could give no

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name. Finally, a veil seemed
lifted, for the globe grew brighter,

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and he leaned forward eagerly fearful.
Another veil melted away, and a still

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brighter light illumined the ball. Now
Vrek was able to make out objects.

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Here was a table littered with books
and papers. There chair yonder a shadowy

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mantle. Gradually the light grew until
his intensely fixed eyes pained him, but

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he stared steadily on Another quick brightness
came and the objects all became clear.

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He studied them incredulously for a few
seconds, and then he recognized what he

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saw. It was a room,
his study, miles away in his apartments.

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A sudden numb chilliness seized him,
but he closed his teeth hard and

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gazed on. The outlines of the
crystal were disappearing. Now they were gone,

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and he saw more. A door
opened and a man entered the room

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into which he was looking. Veric
gave a little gasp as he recognized the

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man. It was himself. He
watched the man himself as he moved about

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the study aimlessly for a time,
as if deeply troubled. Then, as

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he dropped into a chair at the
desk, verrec read clearly on the vision

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face those emotions which he was suffering
in person. As he looked, the

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man made some hopeless gesture with his
hands. His hands and leaned forward on

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the desk with his hands on his
arms. Verick shuddered for a long time.

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It seemed the man sat motionless.
Then Verrec became conscious of another figure,

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a man in the room. This
figure had come into the vision from

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his own viewpoint. His face was
averted. Verrec did not recognize the figure,

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but he saw something else and started
in terror. A knife was in

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the hand of the unknown, and
he was creeping stealthily toward the unconscious figure

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in the chair himself, with the
weapon raised. An inarticulate cry burst from

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Vierec's colorless lips, a cry of
warning. As he saw the unknown creep

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on on on toward himself. He
saw the figure that was himself move a

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little, and the unknown leaped.
The upraised knife swept down and was buried

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to the handle. Again, a
cry, an unintelligible shriek burst from Verrec's

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lips. His heart fluttered, and
perspiration poured from his face. With incoherent

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mutterings, he sank forward helplessly.
How long he remained there, he didn't

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know, But at last he compelled
himself to look again. The crystal glittered

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coldly on its pedestal of velvet,
but that hideous thing which had been there

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was gone. The thought came to
him to bring it back to see more.

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By repulsive fear, terror seized upon
him. He rose and staggered out

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of the cabinet. His face was
pallid, and his hands clasped and unclasped

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nervously. Joda was lying on a
divan sobbing. She leaped to her feet

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when he entered, and looking into
his face, she knew again. She

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buried her face in her hands and
wept afresh. Odd Him stood with moody

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eyes fixed on the great God Bud. I saw, I understand, said

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Veric between his teeth. But I
don't believe it. The crystal never lies,

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Sahib, said the seer sorrowfully.
But it can't be that, Verik

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declared protestingly. Be careful, Sahib, Oh, be careful, urged the

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girl. Of course, I shall
be careful, said Verrec shortly. Suddenly

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he turned to the crystal gazer,
and there was a menace in his tone.

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Did ever such a thing appear to
you before? Only once? Sahib?

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And did it come true? Odd
Him inclined his head slowly. I

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may see you tomorrow, exclaimed Verec. Suddenly, this room is stifling.

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I must go out. With twitching
hands, he drew on a light coat

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over his evening dress, picked up
his hat, and rushed out into the

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world of realities. The Crystal Gazer
stood for a moment while Jada clung to

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his arm, tremblingly. It is
as the God's will, he said,

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sadly. At last, Professor Augustus
s f X van Dusen the Thinking Machine

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received Howard Verick in the small reception
room and invited him to a seat.

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Verreck's face was ashen. There were
dark lines under his eyes, and in

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them there was the glitter of an
ungovernable terror. Every move showed the nervousness

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which gripped him. The Thinking Machine
squinted at him curiously, then dropped back

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into his big chair. For several
minutes, Verreck said nothing. He seemed

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to be struggling to control himself.
Suddenly, he burst out, I'm going

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to die some day next week.
Is there any way to prevent it?

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The Thinking Machine turned his great yellow
head and looked at him in a manner

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which nearly indicated surprise. Of course, if you've made up your mind to

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do it, he said, irritably. I don't see what can be done.

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There was a trace of irony in
his voice, a coldness which brought

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Verick around a little. Just how
is it going to happen? I shall

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be murdered, stabbed in the back
by a man whom I don't know,

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Verick rushed on, desperately. Dear
me, dear me, how unfortunate.

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Come into the scientist, tell me
something about it. But here he arose

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and went into his laboratory. After
a moment, he returned and handed a

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glass of some effervescent liquid to Veric, who gulped it down. Take a

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minute to pull yourself together, instructed
the scientist. He resumed his seat and

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sat silent, with his long,
slender fingers pressed tip to tip. Gradually

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Verick recovered it was a fierce fight
for the mastery of emotion. Now directed

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the thinking machine at last, tell
me about it. Veriic told just what

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happened lucidly enough, and the thinking
machine listened with polite interest. Once or

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twice, he turned and looked at
his visitor. Do you believe in any

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psychic force? Verick asked once.
I don't disbelieve in anything until I have

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proven that it cannot be was the
answer. The god who hung a sun

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up there has done other things which
we will never understand. There was a

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little pause. Then how did you
meet this man? Odd him sing.

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I have been interested for years in
the psychic, the occult, the things

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we don't understand. Errik replied,
I have a comfortable fortune, no occupation,

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no dependence, and made this a
sort of hobby. I have studied

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it superficially all over the world.
I met Odim Sing in India ten years

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ago, afterwards in England where he
went through Oxford with some financial assistance from

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me, and later here two years
ago. He convinced me that there is

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something in crystal gazing. Call it
telepathy, self hypnotism, subconscious mental action,

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what you will. Since then,
the science, I can call it

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nothing else, has guided me in
every important act of my life through addhim

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Sing. Yes, and under a
pledge of secrecy. I imagine that is

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secrecy as to the nature of his
revelations. Yes, any taintive insanity in

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your family? Vierick wondered whether the
question was in the nature of an insolent

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reproof or was a request for information. He construed it as the latter.

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No, he answered, never a
touch of it? How often have you

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consulted mister Singh? Many times?
There have been occasions when he would tell

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me nothing because he explained the crystal
told him nothing. There have been other

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times when he advised me correctly.
He has never given me bad advice,

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even in intricate stock operations. Therefore, I have been compelled to believe him

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in all things. You were never
able to see anything yourself in the crystal

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until this vision of death last Tuesday
night. You say that was the first.

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How do you know the murder is
to take place at any given time?

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That is next week? As you
say, that is the information Adim

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Singh gave me. Was the reply. He can read the visions. They

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mean more to him than in other
words, he makes it a profession interrupted

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the scientist. Yes, go on. The horror of the thing impressed me

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so both of us that he has, at my request twice invoked the visions

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since that night. He, like
you, wanted to know when it would

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happen. There is a calendar by
weeks in my study. That is,

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only one week is shown on it
at a time. The last time the

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vision appeared, he noted this calendar. The week was that beginning next Sunday,

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the twenty first of this month.
The only conclusion we could reach was

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it would happen during that week.
The Thinking Machine arose and paced back and

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forth across the room, deeply thoughtful. At last he stopped before his visitor.

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It's perfectly amazing, he commented emphatically. It approaches nearer to the unbelievable

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than anything I have ever heard of. Varick's response was a look that was

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almost grateful. You believe it impossible, then, he asked, eagerly.

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Nothing is impossible, declared the other
aggressively. Now, mister Verick, you

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00:16:36,039 --> 00:16:40,159
are firmly convinced that what you saw
was prophetic, that you will die in

204
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:45,240
that manner, in that place.
I can't believe anything else. I can't,

205
00:16:45,799 --> 00:16:48,679
was the response. And you have
no idea of the identity of the

206
00:16:48,759 --> 00:16:53,159
murderer to be, if I may
use that phrase, not the slightest.

207
00:16:53,559 --> 00:17:00,159
The figure was wholly unfamiliar to me. And you know, you know at

208
00:17:00,159 --> 00:17:03,640
the room you saw in the crystal
was yours. I know that absolutely,

209
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:10,599
rugs, furniture, mantle, books, everything was mine. The Thinking Machine

210
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:14,440
was again silent for a time.
In that event, he said, at

211
00:17:14,519 --> 00:17:18,519
last, the affair is perfectly simple. Will you place yourself in my hands

212
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:25,599
and obey my directions implicitly? Yes, there was an eager, hopeful note

213
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,319
in Verick's voice. Now I am
going to try to disarrange the affairs of

214
00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,279
fate a little bit, explained the
scientist gravely. I don't know what will

215
00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:40,400
happen, but it will be interesting
to try to throw the inevitable the preordained,

216
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:45,240
I might say, out of gear, won't it. With a quizzical

217
00:17:45,319 --> 00:17:48,559
grim expression about his thin lips,
the thinking machine went to the telephone in

218
00:17:48,599 --> 00:17:55,319
an adjoining room and called someone.
Verick heard neither the name nor what was

219
00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:59,480
said, merely the mumble of the
irritable voice. He glanced up as the

220
00:17:59,519 --> 00:18:03,759
scientist return. Have you any servants
a valet, for instance? Asked the

221
00:18:03,799 --> 00:18:08,720
scientist. Yes, I have an
aged servant a valet, but he is

222
00:18:08,759 --> 00:18:12,880
now in France. I gave him
a little vacation. I really don't need

223
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:18,200
one now, as I live in
an apartment house almost a hotel. I

224
00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,680
don't suppose you happen to have three
or four thousand dollars in your pocket.

225
00:18:22,759 --> 00:18:26,839
No, not so much as that
was the puzzled reply. If it's your

226
00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:32,400
fee. I never accept fees,
interrupted the scientist. I interest myself in

227
00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:37,680
affairs like these because I like them. They are good mental exercise. Please

228
00:18:37,759 --> 00:18:42,240
draw a check for say, four
thousand dollars to Hutchison Hatch. Who is

229
00:18:42,279 --> 00:18:48,200
he asked Verrick. There was no
reply. The check was drawn and handed

230
00:18:48,279 --> 00:18:52,200
over without further comment. It was
fifteen or twenty minutes later that a cab

231
00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,279
pulled up in front of the house. Hutchison, Hatch, reporter, and

232
00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:02,240
another man, whom he introduced as
Philip Byrne, were ushered in. As

233
00:19:02,279 --> 00:19:07,000
Hatch shook hands with Verick, the
thinking Machine compared them mentally. They were

234
00:19:07,039 --> 00:19:10,880
relatively of the same size, and
he bobbed his head as if satisfied.

235
00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:15,200
Now, mister Hatch, he instructed, take this check and get it cashed

236
00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:21,680
immediately, then return here, not
a word to anybody. Hatch went out,

237
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:26,240
and Burne discussed politics with Verick until
he returned with the money. The

238
00:19:26,279 --> 00:19:30,759
Thinking Machine thrust the bills into Burne's
hands, and he counted it afterwards,

239
00:19:30,799 --> 00:19:33,920
stowing it away in a pocket.
Now, mister Verick, the key to

240
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,240
your apartment, please, asked the
scientist. They were handed over and he

241
00:19:38,279 --> 00:19:42,680
placed them in his pocket. Then
he turned to Verick. From this time

242
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:47,799
on, he said, your name
is John Smith. You are going on

243
00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:52,079
a trip, beginning immediately with mister
Burne. Here. You are not to

244
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,559
send a letter, a postal,
a telegram, or a package to anyone.

245
00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,720
You are to buy nothing. You
are to write no check. You

246
00:20:00,799 --> 00:20:04,319
are not to speak to or recognize
any one. You are not to telephone

247
00:20:04,759 --> 00:20:08,400
or attempt in any manner to communicate
with any one, not even me.

248
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:15,920
You are to obey mister Burne in
everything, he says. Verick's eyes had

249
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,599
grown wider and whiter as he listened. But my affairs, my business,

250
00:20:19,599 --> 00:20:23,880
he protested. It is a matter
of your life or death, said the

251
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:29,519
thinking machine. Shortly. For a
moment, Verick wavered a little. He

252
00:20:29,599 --> 00:20:33,359
felt that he was being treated like
a child. As you say, he

253
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,440
said. Finally, now, mister
Burne continued the scientist. You heard those

254
00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:42,359
instructions. It is your duty to
enforce them. You must lose this man

255
00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:48,119
and yourself, take him away somewhere, to another place. There is enough

256
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,319
money there for ordinary purposes. When
you learn that there has been an arrest

257
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,680
in connection with a certain threat against
mister Verick, come back to Boston to

258
00:20:56,799 --> 00:21:02,480
me and bring him. That's all. Mister Burne arose with a businesslike air.

259
00:21:03,519 --> 00:21:07,079
Come on, mister Smith, he
commanded. Verick followed him out of

260
00:21:07,079 --> 00:21:11,519
the room. Here was the table
littered with books and papers. There chair

261
00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:17,599
yonder a shadowy mantle. A door
opened, and a man entered the room,

262
00:21:18,599 --> 00:21:22,160
moved about to study aimlessly for a
time, as if deeply troubled,

263
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,680
then dropped into a chair at his
desk, made some hopeless gesture with his

264
00:21:26,799 --> 00:21:30,119
hands, and leaned forward on the
desk with his head on his arms.

265
00:21:30,039 --> 00:21:34,799
Another figure in the room, knife
in his hand, creeping stealthily towards the

266
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:41,319
unconscious figure in the chair. With
a knife raised the unknown crept on on

267
00:21:41,319 --> 00:21:45,000
on. There was a blinding flash, a gush of flame and smoke,

268
00:21:45,599 --> 00:21:49,920
a sharp click, and through the
fog came the unexcited voice of Hutchinson Hatch,

269
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:55,200
reporter, stay right where you are, please. That ought to be

270
00:21:55,279 --> 00:22:00,039
a good picture, said the thinking
machine. The smoke cleared, and I

271
00:22:00,039 --> 00:22:03,559
saw audhimn Sing, standing watching with
deep concern a revolver in the hands of

272
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,319
Hatch, who had suddenly arisen from
the desk in Verick's room. The thinking

273
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:12,200
Man rubbed his hands briskly. Ah, I thought it was you, he

274
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,160
said to the crystal Gazer. Put
down the knife, please, that's right.

275
00:22:17,599 --> 00:22:19,559
It seems a little bold to have
interfered with what was to be like

276
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,759
this, But you wanted too much
detail, mister Singh, you might have

277
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:30,279
murdered your friend if you hadn't gone
into so much trivial theatrics. I suppose

278
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,319
I am a prisoner, asked the
crystal Gazer. You are, the thinking

279
00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:37,880
Man assured him cheerfully. You are
charged with the attempted murder of mister Verick.

280
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,680
Your wife will be a prisoner in
another half hour, with all those

281
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,559
who were with you in the conspiracy. He turned a Hatch, who was

282
00:22:45,559 --> 00:22:52,039
smiling broadly. The reporter was thinking
of that wonderful flashlight photograph in the camera

283
00:22:52,279 --> 00:22:56,440
that the Thinking Man held, the
only photograph in the world so far as

284
00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,440
he knew, of a man in
the act of attempting an assassination. Now,

285
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:04,440
mister Hatch, the scientist went on, I will phone the detective Mallory

286
00:23:04,519 --> 00:23:08,119
to come here and get this gentleman, and also to send men and arrest

287
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,599
every person to be found in mister
Singh's home. If this man tries to

288
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:18,559
run shoot. The scientist went out, and Hatch devoted his attention to his

289
00:23:18,599 --> 00:23:23,720
sullen prisoner. He asked half a
dozen questions, and, receiving no answers,

290
00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:29,319
he gave it up as hopeless.
After a while, Detective Mawory appeared

291
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:33,880
in his usual state of restrained astonishment, and the crystal Gazer was led away.

292
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:37,720
Then Hatch and the Thinking Machine went
to the odd Hymn Seeing House.

293
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:44,000
The police had preceded them and gone
away with four prisoners, among them the

294
00:23:44,039 --> 00:23:48,400
girl Jada. They obtained an entrance
through the courtesy of a policeman left in

295
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,440
charge, and sought out the crystal
cabinet. Together they bowed over the glittering

296
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,680
globe as Hatch held a match.
But I still don't see how it was

297
00:23:56,759 --> 00:24:02,200
done, said the reporter. After
they had looked at the crystal, the

298
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:06,759
Thinking Man lifted the ball and replaced
it on its pedestal half a dozen times,

299
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,519
apparently trying to locate a slight click. Then he fumbled all around the

300
00:24:11,519 --> 00:24:17,400
table above and below. At his
suggestion, Hatch lifted the ball very slowly

301
00:24:17,839 --> 00:24:22,400
while the scientist slid his slender fingers
underneath it. Ah he exclaimed at last,

302
00:24:22,839 --> 00:24:27,359
I thought, so he's clever,
mister Hatch, clever, just stand

303
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,359
here a few minutes in the dark, and I'll see if I can operate

304
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:36,960
it for you. He disappeared,
and Hatch stood staring at the crystal until

305
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:41,480
he was developing a severe case of
the creeps himself. Just then a light

306
00:24:41,559 --> 00:24:45,559
flashed in the crystal, which had
been only dimly visible, and he found

307
00:24:45,599 --> 00:24:52,480
himself looking into the room in Howard
Verick's apartment miles away. As he looked,

308
00:24:52,519 --> 00:24:56,200
startled, he saw a thinking machine
appear in the crystal and wave his

309
00:24:56,359 --> 00:25:00,559
arms. The creepiness passed instantly in
the face of this obvious attempt to attract

310
00:25:00,599 --> 00:25:06,480
his attention. It was later that
afternoon that the thinking machine turned the light

311
00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:10,759
of his analytical genius on the problem
for the benefit of Hatch and Detective Mallory.

312
00:25:11,519 --> 00:25:15,680
Charlatanism is a luxury which cost the
peoples of the world incredible sums.

313
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:21,119
He began. It had its beginnings, of course, in the dark ages,

314
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:26,119
when man's mind grasped at some tangible
evidence of an infinite power, and

315
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,359
through its very eagerness, was easily
satisfied. Then quacks began to prey upon

316
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,400
men and due to this day,
under many guises and under many names,

317
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:41,599
this condition will continue until enlightenment has
become so general that man will realize the

318
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:45,839
absurdity of such a thing as nature
or the other world's forces going out of

319
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,880
its way to tell him whether a
certain stock will go up or down.

320
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:55,160
A sense of humor ought to convince
him that disembodied spirits do not come back

321
00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:00,720
and wrap on tables and answer to
asinine questions. These things are merely institutions

322
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,039
of the divine revelations. Hatch smiled
a little at the lecture platform tone,

323
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:11,279
and Detective Mallory chewed his cigar uncomfortably. He was there to find out something

324
00:26:11,279 --> 00:26:15,400
about crime. This thing was over
his head. This is merely preliminary,

325
00:26:15,599 --> 00:26:19,359
The thinking machine went on after a
moment. Now, as to this crystal

326
00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:25,480
gazing affair, a little reason,
a little logic. When mister Verick came

327
00:26:25,519 --> 00:26:29,119
to me, I saw he was
an intelligent man who had devoted years to

328
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,000
a study of the so called occult. Being intelligent, he was not easily

329
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,960
hoodwinked. Yet he had been hoodwinked
for years. Therefore, I could see

330
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,119
that the man who did it must
be far beyond the blundering fool usually found

331
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:47,519
in these affairs. Now, mister
Verick personally had never seen anything in any

332
00:26:47,559 --> 00:26:52,559
crystal. Remember that until the vision
of death. When I knew this,

333
00:26:52,799 --> 00:26:56,240
I knew the vision was Stampeda's quackery. The mere fact of him seeing it

334
00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:02,880
proved that. But the quackery was
so circumsubstantial that he was convinced. Thus

335
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,400
we have crackery. Why for a
fee? I can imagine successful guesses on

336
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,720
the stock market bringing fees to add
him Sing, But the vision of a

337
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,640
man's death is not the way to
his pocketbook. If not for a fee,

338
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:22,000
then what a deeper motive was instantly
apparent. Mister Verick was wealthy,

339
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,200
He had known Sing and had been
friendly with him for years, had supplied

340
00:27:26,279 --> 00:27:30,000
him with funds to go through Oxford, and had no family or dependence.

341
00:27:30,839 --> 00:27:33,720
Therefore, it seemed probable that a
will, or perhaps in another way,

342
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,640
Sing would benefit by mister Verick's death. There was a motive for the vision,

343
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,119
which might have been at first an
effort to scare him to death because

344
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:47,440
he had a bad heart. I
saw all these things when mister Verick talked

345
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,319
to me first, several days after
he saw the vision, but did not

346
00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,720
suggest them to him. Had I
done so, he would not have believed

347
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,519
so sort of a thing, for
he believed in Sing, and would probably

348
00:27:59,559 --> 00:28:02,920
have gone way to be murdered or
to die of fright, as Sing intended.

349
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,759
Knowing these things, there was only
the labor of trapping a clever man.

350
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,640
Now the hin do mine works in
strange channels. It loves the mystic,

351
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,839
the theatric and I imagined that,
having gone so far, Sing would

352
00:28:15,839 --> 00:28:19,920
attempt to bring the vision to a
reality. He presumed, of course,

353
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:26,079
that mister Verick would keep the matter
to himself. The question of saving Viereck's

354
00:28:26,079 --> 00:28:29,759
life was trifling. If he was
to die at a given time in a

355
00:28:29,759 --> 00:28:33,640
given room, the thing to do
is to place him beyond possible reach of

356
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,160
that room. At that time,
I phoned to you, mister Hatch,

357
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,000
and ask you to bring me a
private detective who would obey orders. And

358
00:28:41,039 --> 00:28:45,519
you brought me mister Byrne. You
heard my instructions to him. It was

359
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,920
necessary to hide mister Verereck's identity,
and my elaborate directions were to prevent anyone

360
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:55,039
getting the slightest clue as to him
having gone, or as to where he

361
00:28:55,200 --> 00:29:00,319
was, I don't know where he
is now. Immediately mister Verick was off

362
00:29:00,359 --> 00:29:03,279
my hands. I had Martha,
my housekeeper, write a note to Sing,

363
00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,640
explaining that mister Varick was ill and
confined to his room and for the

364
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:14,000
present was unable to see anyone.
In this note a date was specified when

365
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:18,119
he would call on Sing. Martha
wrote, of course, as a trained

366
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:22,839
nurse who was in attendance merely on
daytime. All these points were made perfectly

367
00:29:22,839 --> 00:29:26,960
clear to Sing. That done,
it was only a matter of patience.

368
00:29:26,559 --> 00:29:30,640
Mister Hatch and I went to mister
Vereick's apartments each night. I had Martha

369
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:36,839
there in daytime to answer questions,
and waited in hiding. Mister Hatch is

370
00:29:36,839 --> 00:29:41,279
about Verick's size, and a whig
helped us along what happened? Then?

371
00:29:41,359 --> 00:29:45,000
You know, I may add that
when mister Vverick told me the story,

372
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,680
I commented on it as being almost
unbelievable. He understood, as I meant,

373
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,480
he should that I refer to the
vision. I really meant that the

374
00:29:53,519 --> 00:29:59,400
elaborate scheme which Sing had evolved was
unbelievable. He might have killed him just

375
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:04,000
as well with a drop of poison
or something equally pleasant. The thinking machine

376
00:30:04,039 --> 00:30:08,880
stopped as if that were all,
But the crystal asked, hatch, how

377
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,759
did that work? How was it? I saw you? That was a

378
00:30:12,759 --> 00:30:18,160
little ingenious and rather expensive, said
the thinking machine, so expensive that Singh

379
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,920
must have expected to get a large
sum from success. I can best describe

380
00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:29,039
the manufacture of the vision as a
variation of the principle of the camera obscura.

381
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,440
It was done with lenses of various
sorts and a multitude of mirrors,

382
00:30:33,799 --> 00:30:37,119
and required the assistance of two other
men, those who were taken from Singh's

383
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:42,720
house with Jada first. The room
in mister Verereck's apartments was duplicated in the

384
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:48,519
basement of Singh's house, even to
rugs, books, and wall decorations.

385
00:30:48,599 --> 00:30:52,960
There two men rehearsed the murder scene
that mister Verick saw. They were disguised,

386
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:56,200
of course, you have looked through
the wrong end of a telescope.

387
00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,599
Of course, while the original reduction
of the murders scene to a size where

388
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,839
all of it would appear in a
small mirror was accomplished that way. From

389
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:10,039
this small mirror there ran pipes with
a series of mirrors and lenses through the

390
00:31:10,079 --> 00:31:15,319
house, carrying the reflection of what
was happening below so vaguely though that features

391
00:31:15,319 --> 00:31:18,519
were barely distinguishable. The pipe ran
up inside one of the legs of the

392
00:31:18,519 --> 00:31:22,720
table on which the crystal rested,
and then by reflection to the pedestal.

393
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,160
You, mister Hatch, saw me
lift that crystal several times, and each

394
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,319
time you might have noticed the click. I was trying to find them how

395
00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:37,799
their reflection reached it. When you
lifted it slowly and I put my fingers

396
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,400
under, I knew there was a
small trap in the pedestal covered with velvet.

397
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:47,400
This closed automatically and presented a solid
surface when the crystal was lifted,

398
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:52,480
and opened when the crystal was replaced. Thus, the reflection reached the crystal,

399
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,559
which reversed it that last time and
made it appear right side up to

400
00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,079
the watcher. The apparent growth of
the light in the crystal was caused below.

401
00:32:00,799 --> 00:32:05,880
Someone simply removed several sheets of gauze, one at a time from in

402
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:10,400
front of the first lens. Well, exclaimed Detective Mallory. That's the most

403
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:15,880
elaborate affair I ever heard of.
Quite right, commented the scientist. But

404
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:21,400
we don't know how many victims Singh
had. Of course, any vision was

405
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,279
possible with a change of scene in
the basement. I imagine it was a

406
00:32:24,279 --> 00:32:30,480
profitable investment, because there are many
fools in this world. What did the

407
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,079
girl have to do with it,
asked Hatch. That I don't know,

408
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,119
replied the scientist. She was pretty. Perhaps she was used as a sort

409
00:32:38,119 --> 00:32:43,640
of bait to attract a certain class
of men. She was really Singh's wife,

410
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,119
I imagine, not his sister.
She was a prominent figure in the

411
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,920
mummery with Verick. Of course,
with her aide, Singh was able to

412
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,400
lend great effectiveness to the general scheme. A couple of days later, Howard

413
00:32:55,480 --> 00:33:00,599
Verick returned to the city in tow
of Philip Byrne Thinking Machine asked mister Verrick

414
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:06,759
only one question of consequence. How
much money did you intend to leave sing

415
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:12,000
about? Two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars was the reply. It was to

416
00:33:12,039 --> 00:33:16,200
be used, under his direction in
furthering an investigation into the psychic He and

417
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:22,480
I had planned just how it was
to be spent. Personally, mister Vereick

418
00:33:22,599 --> 00:33:30,119
is no longer interested in the occult
end of problem of the Crystal Gazer.