Speaker 1: Problem of the Crystal Gazer by Jacques Poutrelle. With hideous,
goggling eyes, the great god Bud sat crossed legged on
a pedestal and stared stolidly into the semi darkness. He saw,
by the wavering light of a peacock lamp, which swooped
down from the ceiling with wings outstretched, what might have
been a nook in a palace of East India. Draperies
hung here there everywhere, richly embroidered divans sprawled about. Fierce
tiger rugs glared up from the floor. Grotesque idols grinned
mirthlessly in unexpected corners. Strange arms were grouped on the walls. Outside,
the trolley cars clang blatantly. The single human figure with
the distinct contradiction of all else it was that of
a man in evening dress, smoking. He was fifty perhaps
sixty years old, with the ruddy color of one who
has lived a great deal out of doors. There was
only a touch of gray in his abundant hair in
a dash. His eyes were steady and clear and indolent.
For a long time he sat. Then the draperies to
his right parted, and a girl entered. She was a
part of the picture of which the man was a contradiction.
Her lustrous black hair flowed about her shoulders, lambent, mysteries
lay in her eyes. Her dress was the dress of
the East. For a moment she stood looking at the man,
and then entered with light tread. Verik, Sahib, she said, timidly,
as if it were a greeting. Do I intrude? Her
voice was softly guttural, with the accent of her native tongue. Oh, no, Jada,
come in, said the man. She smiled frankly and sat
down on a hassock near him. My brother, she asked,
he is in the cabinet. Verick had merely glanced at her,
and then continued his thoughtful gaze into vacancy. From time
to time she looked up at him shyly, with a
touch of eagerness, but there was no answering interest in
his manner. His thoughts were far away. May I ask
what brings you this time, sahib? She inquired, at last,
A little deal in the market, responded Verrek carelessly. It
seems to have puzzled odd to him as much as
it did me. He has been in the cabinet for
half an hour. He stared on musingly as he smoked,
then dropped his eyes to the slender, graceful figure of Jade.
With knees clasped in her hands. She leaned back on
the hassock, deeply thoughtful. Her head was tilted upward, and
the flickering light fell full on her face. It crossed
Verick's mind that she was pretty, and he was about
to say so, as he would have said to any
other woman, when the curtains behind them were thrown apart
and they both glanced around. Another man, an East Indian entered.
This man was odd him sing the crystal gazer and
the ostentatious robes of a seer. He too was part
of the picture. There was an expression of apprehension mingled
with some other impalpable quality on his strong face. Well
vad him inquired, Verek, I have seen strange things, Sahib,
replied the seer solemnly. The crystal tells me of danger. Danger,
repeated Verec, with a slight lifting of his brows. Oh, well,
in that case, I shall keep out of it. Not
danger to your business, Sahib. The crystal gazer went on
with troubled face, but danger in another way. The girl Jada,
looked at him with quick startled eyes and asked some
question in her native tongue. He answered in the same language,
and she rose suddenly with terror stricken face, to fling
herself at Vierek's feet, weeping. Verec seemed to understand too,
and looked at the seer in apprehension death. He exclaimed,
what do you mean? Adim was silent for a moment
and bowed his head respectfully before the steady, inquiring gaze
of the white man. Pardon, Sahib, he said, at last,
I did not remember that you understood my language. What
is it? Insisted Verik abruptly tell me I cannot, Sahib.
You must, declared the other he had arisen commandingly, you must.
The crystal Gazer crossed to him and stood for an
instant with his hand on the white man's shoulder and
his eyes studying the fear he found in the white
man's face. The crystal Sahib, he began, It tells me
that that no no brother, pleaded the girl. Go on,
Verreck commanded, it grees me to say that which will
pain one whom I love as I do you, Sahib.
Said the seer slowly. Perhaps you would rather see for yourself.
Well let me see, then, said Verick. Is it in
the crystal, yes, by the grace of the gods. But
I can't see anything there. Verick remembered, I've tried scores
of times. I believe this will be different, Sahib said,
add him quietly, can you stand a shock? Verrec shook
himself a little impatiently, of course, he replied, yes, yes,
a very serious shock. Again, there was an impatient twist
of Veric's shoulders. Yes, I can stand anything, he exclaimed shortly.
What is it? Let me see. He strode toward that
point in the draperies where Adham had entered, while the
girl on her knees sought with entreating hands to stop him. No, no, no,
she pleaded, No, don't do that. Very expostulated in annoyance,
But gently he stooped and lifted her to her feet.
I am not a child or a fool. He threw
aside the curtains. As they fell softly behind him. He
heard a pitiful little cry of grief from Jada and
set his teeth together hard. He stood in the crystal cabinet.
It was somewhat larger than an ordinary closet, and had
been made him pay inetable to the light by hangings
of black velvet. For a while, he stood still so
that his eyes might become accustomed to the utter blackness,
and gradually the sinister, fascinating crystal ball appeared faintly visible
by its own mystic luminosity. It rested on a pedestal
of black velvet. Vreck was accustomed to his surroundings. He
had been in the cabinet many times. Now. He dropped
down onto a stool in front of the table where
on the crystal lay, and leaned forward on his arms,
staring into its limpid depths, unblinking. For one, two, three minutes,
he sat there with his thoughts in chaos. After a while,
there came a change in the ball. It seemed to
glow with a growing light other than its own. Suddenly
it darkened completely, and out of this utter darkness grew shadowy,
vague forms to which he could give no name. Finally,
a veil seemed lifted, for the globe grew brighter, and
he leaned forward eagerly fearful. Another veil melted away, and
a still brighter light illumined the ball. Now Vrek was
able to make out objects. Here was a table littered
with books and papers. There chair yonder a shadowy mantle.
Gradually the light grew until his intensely fixed eyes pained him,
but he stared steadily on Another quick brightness came and
the objects all became clear. He studied them incredulously for
a few seconds, and then he recognized what he saw.
It was a room, his study, miles away in his apartments.
A sudden numb chilliness seized him, but he closed his
teeth hard and gazed on. The outlines of the crystal
were disappearing. Now they were gone, and he saw more.
A door opened and a man entered the room into
which he was looking. Veric gave a little gasp as
he recognized the man. It was himself. He watched the
man himself as he moved about the study aimlessly for
a time, as if deeply troubled. Then, as he dropped
into a chair at the desk, verrec read clearly on
the vision face those emotions which he was suffering in person.
As he looked, the man made some hopeless gesture with
his hands. His hands and leaned forward on the desk
with his hands on his arms. Verick shuddered for a
long time. It seemed the man sat motionless. Then Verrec
became conscious of another figure, a man in the room.
This figure had come into the vision from his own viewpoint.
His face was averted. Verrec did not recognize the figure,
but he saw something else and started in terror. A
knife was in the hand of the unknown, and he
was creeping stealthily toward the unconscious figure in the chair himself,
with the weapon raised. An inarticulate cry burst from Vierec's
colorless lips, a cry of warning. As he saw the
unknown creep on on on toward himself. He saw the
figure that was himself move a little, and the unknown leaped.
The upraised knife swept down and was buried to the handle. Again,
a cry, an unintelligible shriek burst from Verrec's lips. His
heart fluttered, and perspiration poured from his face. With incoherent mutterings,
he sank forward helplessly. How long he remained there, he
didn't know, But at last he compelled himself to look again.
The crystal glittered coldly on its pedestal of velvet, but
that hideous thing which had been there was gone. The
thought came to him to bring it back to see more.
By repulsive fear, terror seized upon him. He rose and
staggered out of the cabinet. His face was pallid, and
his hands clasped and unclasped nervously. Joda was lying on
a divan sobbing. She leaped to her feet when he entered,
and looking into his face, she knew again. She buried
her face in her hands and wept afresh. Odd Him
stood with moody eyes fixed on the great God Bud.
I saw, I understand, said Veric between his teeth. But
I don't believe it. The crystal never lies, Sahib, said
the seer sorrowfully. But it can't be that, Verik declared protestingly.
Be careful, Sahib, Oh, be careful, urged the girl. Of course,
I shall be careful, said Verrec shortly. Suddenly he turned
to the crystal gazer, and there was a menace in
his tone. Did ever such a thing appear to you before?
Only once? Sahib? And did it come true? Odd Him
inclined his head slowly. I may see you tomorrow, exclaimed Verec. Suddenly,
this room is stifling. I must go out. With twitching hands,
he drew on a light coat over his evening dress,
picked up his hat, and rushed out into the world
of realities. The Crystal Gazer stood for a moment while
Jada clung to his arm, tremblingly. It is as the
God's will, he said, sadly. At last, Professor Augustus s
f X van Dusen the Thinking Machine received Howard Verick
in the small reception room and invited him to a seat.
Verreck's face was ashen. There were dark lines under his eyes,
and in them there was the glitter of an ungovernable terror.
Every move showed the nervousness which gripped him. The Thinking
Machine squinted at him curiously, then dropped back into his
big chair. For several minutes, Verreck said nothing. He seemed
to be struggling to control himself. Suddenly, he burst out,
I'm going to die some day next week. Is there
any way to prevent it? The Thinking Machine turned his
great yellow head and looked at him in a manner
which nearly indicated surprise. Of course, if you've made up
your mind to do it, he said, irritably. I don't
see what can be done. There was a trace of
irony in his voice, a coldness which brought Verick around
a little. Just how is it going to happen? I
shall be murdered, stabbed in the back by a man
whom I don't know, Verick rushed on, desperately. Dear me,
dear me, how unfortunate. Come into the scientist, tell me
something about it. But here he arose and went into
his laboratory. After a moment, he returned and handed a
glass of some effervescent liquid to Veric, who gulped it down.
Take a minute to pull yourself together, instructed the scientist.
He resumed his seat and sat silent, with his long,
slender fingers pressed tip to tip. Gradually Verick recovered it
was a fierce fight for the mastery of emotion. Now
directed the thinking machine at last, tell me about it.
Veriic told just what happened lucidly enough, and the thinking
machine listened with polite interest. Once or twice, he turned
and looked at his visitor. Do you believe in any
psychic force? Verick asked once. I don't disbelieve in anything
until I have proven that it cannot be was the answer.
The god who hung a sun up there has done
other things which we will never understand. There was a
little pause. Then how did you meet this man? Odd
him sing. I have been interested for years in the psychic,
the occult, the things we don't understand. Errik replied, I
have a comfortable fortune, no occupation, no dependence, and made
this a sort of hobby. I have studied it superficially
all over the world. I met Odim Sing in India
ten years ago, afterwards in England where he went through
Oxford with some financial assistance from me, and later here
two years ago. He convinced me that there is something
in crystal gazing. Call it telepathy, self hypnotism, subconscious mental action,
what you will. Since then, the science, I can call
it nothing else, has guided me in every important act
of my life through addhim Sing. Yes, and under a
pledge of secrecy. I imagine that is secrecy as to
the nature of his revelations. Yes, any taintive insanity in
your family? Vierick wondered whether the question was in the
nature of an insolent reproof or was a request for information.
He construed it as the latter. No, he answered, never
a touch of it? How often have you consulted mister Singh?
Many times? There have been occasions when he would tell
me nothing because he explained the crystal told him nothing.
There have been other times when he advised me correctly.
He has never given me bad advice, even in intricate
stock operations. Therefore, I have been compelled to believe him
in all things. You were never able to see anything
yourself in the crystal until this vision of death last
Tuesday night. You say that was the first. How do
you know the murder is to take place at any
given time? That is next week? As you say, that
is the information Adim Singh gave me. Was the reply.
He can read the visions. They mean more to him
than in other words, he makes it a profession interrupted
the scientist. Yes, go on. The horror of the thing
impressed me so both of us that he has, at
my request twice invoked the visions since that night. He,
like you, wanted to know when it would happen. There
is a calendar by weeks in my study. That is,
only one week is shown on it at a time.
The last time the vision appeared, he noted this calendar.
The week was that beginning next Sunday, the twenty first
of this month. The only conclusion we could reach was
it would happen during that week. The Thinking Machine arose
and paced back and forth across the room, deeply thoughtful.
At last he stopped before his visitor. It's perfectly amazing,
he commented emphatically. It approaches nearer to the unbelievable than
anything I have ever heard of. Varick's response was a
look that was almost grateful. You believe it impossible, then,
he asked, eagerly. Nothing is impossible, declared the other aggressively. Now,
mister Verick, you are firmly convinced that what you saw
was prophetic, that you will die in that manner, in
that place. I can't believe anything else. I can't, was
the response. And you have no idea of the identity
of the murderer to be, if I may use that phrase,
not the slightest. The figure was wholly unfamiliar to me.
And you know, you know at the room you saw
in the crystal was yours. I know that absolutely, rugs, furniture, mantle, books,
everything was mine. The Thinking Machine was again silent for
a time. In that event, he said, at last, the
affair is perfectly simple. Will you place yourself in my
hands and obey my directions implicitly? Yes, there was an eager,
hopeful note in Verick's voice. Now I am going to
try to disarrange the affairs of fate a little bit,
explained the scientist gravely. I don't know what will happen,
but it will be interesting to try to throw the
inevitable the preordained, I might say, out of gear, won't it.
With a quizzical grim expression about his thin lips, the
thinking machine went to the telephone in an adjoining room
and called someone. Verick heard neither the name nor what
was said, merely the mumble of the irritable voice. He
glanced up as the scientist return. Have you any servants
a valet, for instance? Asked the scientist. Yes, I have
an aged servant a valet, but he is now in France.
I gave him a little vacation. I really don't need
one now, as I live in an apartment house almost
a hotel. I don't suppose you happen to have three
or four thousand dollars in your pocket. No, not so
much as that was the puzzled reply. If it's your fee.
I never accept fees, interrupted the scientist. I interest myself
in affairs like these because I like them. They are
good mental exercise. Please draw a check for say, four
thousand dollars to Hutchison Hatch. Who is he asked Verrick.
There was no reply. The check was drawn and handed
over without further comment. It was fifteen or twenty minutes
later that a cab pulled up in front of the house. Hutchison, Hatch, reporter,
and another man, whom he introduced as Philip Byrne, were
ushered in. As Hatch shook hands with Verick, the thinking
Machine compared them mentally. They were relatively of the same size,
and he bobbed his head as if satisfied. Now, mister Hatch,
he instructed, take this check and get it cashed immediately,
then return here, not a word to anybody. Hatch went out,
and Burne discussed politics with Verick until he returned with
the money. The Thinking Machine thrust the bills into Burne's hands,
and he counted it afterwards, stowing it away in a pocket. Now,
mister Verick, the key to your apartment, please, asked the scientist.
They were handed over and he placed them in his pocket.
Then he turned to Verick. From this time on, he said,
your name is John Smith. You are going on a trip,
beginning immediately with mister Burne. Here. You are not to
send a letter, a postal, a telegram, or a package
to anyone. You are to buy nothing. You are to
write no check. You are not to speak to or
recognize any one. You are not to telephone or attempt
in any manner to communicate with any one, not even me.
You are to obey mister Burne in everything, he says.
Verick's eyes had grown wider and whiter as he listened.
But my affairs, my business, he protested. It is a
matter of your life or death, said the thinking machine. Shortly.
For a moment, Verick wavered a little. He felt that
he was being treated like a child. As you say,
he said. Finally, now, mister Burne continued the scientist. You
heard those instructions. It is your duty to enforce them.
You must lose this man and yourself, take him away somewhere,
to another place. There is enough money there for ordinary purposes.
When you learn that there has been an arrest in
connection with a certain threat against mister Verick, come back
to Boston to me and bring him. That's all. Mister
Burne arose with a businesslike air. Come on, mister Smith,
he commanded. Verick followed him out of the room. Here
was the table littered with books and papers. There chair
yonder a shadowy mantle. A door opened, and a man
entered the room, moved about to study aimlessly for a time,
as if deeply troubled, then dropped into a chair at
his desk, made some hopeless gesture with his hands, and
leaned forward on the desk with his head on his arms.
Another figure in the room, knife in his hand, creeping
stealthily towards the unconscious figure in the chair. With a
knife raised the unknown crept on on on. There was
a blinding flash, a gush of flame and smoke, a
sharp click, and through the fog came the unexcited voice
of Hutchinson Hatch, reporter, stay right where you are, please.
That ought to be a good picture, said the thinking machine.
The smoke cleared, and I saw audhimn Sing, standing watching
with deep concern a revolver in the hands of Hatch,
who had suddenly arisen from the desk in Verick's room.
The thinking Man rubbed his hands briskly. Ah, I thought
it was you, he said to the crystal Gazer. Put
down the knife, please, that's right. It seems a little
bold to have interfered with what was to be like this,
But you wanted too much detail, mister Singh, you might
have murdered your friend if you hadn't gone into so
much trivial theatrics. I suppose I am a prisoner, asked
the crystal Gazer. You are, the thinking Man assured him cheerfully.
You are charged with the attempted murder of mister Verick.
Your wife will be a prisoner in another half hour,
with all those who were with you in the conspiracy.
He turned a Hatch, who was smiling broadly. The reporter
was thinking of that wonderful flashlight photograph in the camera
that the Thinking Man held, the only photograph in the
world so far as he knew, of a man in
the act of attempting an assassination. Now, mister Hatch, the
scientist went on, I will phone the detective Mallory to
come here and get this gentleman, and also to send
men and arrest every person to be found in mister
Singh's home. If this man tries to run shoot. The
scientist went out, and Hatch devoted his attention to his
sullen prisoner. He asked half a dozen questions, and, receiving
no answers, he gave it up as hopeless. After a while,
Detective Mawory appeared in his usual state of restrained astonishment,
and the crystal Gazer was led away. Then Hatch and
the Thinking Machine went to the odd Hymn Seeing House.
The police had preceded them and gone away with four prisoners,
among them the girl Jada. They obtained an entrance through
the courtesy of a policeman left in charge, and sought
out the crystal cabinet. Together they bowed over the glittering
globe as Hatch held a match. But I still don't
see how it was done, said the reporter. After they
had looked at the crystal, the Thinking Man lifted the
ball and replaced it on its pedestal half a dozen times,
apparently trying to locate a slight click. Then he fumbled
all around the table above and below. At his suggestion,
Hatch lifted the ball very slowly while the scientist slid
his slender fingers underneath it. Ah he exclaimed at last,
I thought, so he's clever, mister Hatch, clever, just stand
here a few minutes in the dark, and I'll see
if I can operate it for you. He disappeared, and
Hatch stood staring at the crystal until he was developing
a severe case of the creeps himself. Just then a
light flashed in the crystal, which had been only dimly visible,
and he found himself looking into the room in Howard
Verick's apartment miles away. As he looked, startled, he saw
a thinking machine appear in the crystal and wave his arms.
The creepiness passed instantly in the face of this obvious
attempt to attract his attention. It was later that afternoon
that the thinking machine turned the light of his analytical
genius on the problem for the benefit of Hatch and
Detective Mallory. Charlatanism is a luxury which cost the peoples
of the world incredible sums. He began. It had its beginnings,
of course, in the dark ages, when man's mind grasped
at some tangible evidence of an infinite power, and through
its very eagerness, was easily satisfied. Then quacks began to
prey upon men and due to this day, under many
guises and under many names, this condition will continue until
enlightenment has become so general that man will realize the
absurdity of such a thing as nature or the other
world's forces going out of its way to tell him
whether a certain stock will go up or down. A
sense of humor ought to convince him that disembodied spirits
do not come back and wrap on tables and answer
to asinine questions. These things are merely institutions of the
divine revelations. Hatch smiled a little at the lecture platform tone,
and Detective Mallory chewed his cigar uncomfortably. He was there
to find out something about crime. This thing was over
his head. This is merely preliminary, The thinking machine went
on after a moment. Now, as to this crystal gazing affair,
a little reason, a little logic. When mister Verick came
to me, I saw he was an intelligent man who
had devoted years to a study of the so called occult.
Being intelligent, he was not easily hoodwinked. Yet he had
been hoodwinked for years. Therefore, I could see that the
man who did it must be far beyond the blundering
fool usually found in these affairs. Now, mister Verick personally
had never seen anything in any crystal. Remember that until
the vision of death. When I knew this, I knew
the vision was Stampeda's quackery. The mere fact of him
seeing it proved that. But the quackery was so circumsubstantial
that he was convinced. Thus we have crackery. Why for
a fee? I can imagine successful guesses on the stock
market bringing fees to add him Sing, But the vision
of a man's death is not the way to his pocketbook.
If not for a fee, then what a deeper motive
was instantly apparent. Mister Verick was wealthy, He had known
Sing and had been friendly with him for years, had
supplied him with funds to go through Oxford, and had
no family or dependence. Therefore, it seemed probable that a will,
or perhaps in another way, Sing would benefit by mister
Verick's death. There was a motive for the vision, which
might have been at first an effort to scare him
to death because he had a bad heart. I saw
all these things when mister Verick talked to me first,
several days after he saw the vision, but did not
suggest them to him. Had I done so, he would
not have believed so sort of a thing, for he
believed in Sing, and would probably have gone way to
be murdered or to die of fright, as Sing intended.
Knowing these things, there was only the labor of trapping
a clever man. Now the hin do mine works in
strange channels. It loves the mystic, the theatric and I
imagined that, having gone so far, Sing would attempt to
bring the vision to a reality. He presumed, of course,
that mister Verick would keep the matter to himself. The
question of saving Viereck's life was trifling. If he was
to die at a given time in a given room,
the thing to do is to place him beyond possible
reach of that room. At that time, I phoned to you,
mister Hatch, and ask you to bring me a private
detective who would obey orders. And you brought me mister Byrne.
You heard my instructions to him. It was necessary to
hide mister Verereck's identity, and my elaborate directions were to
prevent anyone getting the slightest clue as to him having gone,
or as to where he was, I don't know where
he is now. Immediately mister Verick was off my hands.
I had Martha, my housekeeper, write a note to Sing,
explaining that mister Varick was ill and confined to his
room and for the present was unable to see anyone.
In this note a date was specified when he would
call on Sing. Martha wrote, of course, as a trained
nurse who was in attendance merely on daytime. All these
points were made perfectly clear to Sing. That done, it
was only a matter of patience. Mister Hatch and I
went to mister Vereick's apartments each night. I had Martha
there in daytime to answer questions, and waited in hiding.
Mister Hatch is about Verick's size, and a whig helped
us along what happened? Then? You know, I may add
that when mister Vverick told me the story, I commented
on it as being almost unbelievable. He understood, as I meant,
he should that I refer to the vision. I really
meant that the elaborate scheme which Sing had evolved was unbelievable.
He might have killed him just as well with a
drop of poison or something equally pleasant. The thinking machine
stopped as if that were all, But the crystal asked, hatch,
how did that work? How was it? I saw you?
That was a little ingenious and rather expensive, said the
thinking machine, so expensive that Singh must have expected to
get a large sum from success. I can best describe
the manufacture of the vision as a variation of the
principle of the camera obscura. It was done with lenses
of various sorts and a multitude of mirrors, and required
the assistance of two other men, those who were taken
from Singh's house with Jada first. The room in mister
Verereck's apartments was duplicated in the basement of Singh's house,
even to rugs, books, and wall decorations. There two men
rehearsed the murder scene that mister Verick saw. They were disguised,
of course, you have looked through the wrong end of
a telescope. Of course, while the original reduction of the
murders scene to a size where all of it would
appear in a small mirror was accomplished that way. From
this small mirror there ran pipes with a series of
mirrors and lenses through the house, carrying the reflection of
what was happening below so vaguely though that features were
barely distinguishable. The pipe ran up inside one of the
legs of the table on which the crystal rested, and
then by reflection to the pedestal. You, mister Hatch, saw
me lift that crystal several times, and each time you
might have noticed the click. I was trying to find
them how their reflection reached it. When you lifted it
slowly and I put my fingers under, I knew there
was a small trap in the pedestal covered with velvet.
This closed automatically and presented a solid surface when the
crystal was lifted, and opened when the crystal was replaced. Thus,
the reflection reached the crystal, which reversed it that last
time and made it appear right side up to the watcher.
The apparent growth of the light in the crystal was
caused below. Someone simply removed several sheets of gauze, one
at a time from in front of the first lens. Well,
exclaimed Detective Mallory. That's the most elaborate affair I ever
heard of. Quite right, commented the scientist. But we don't
know how many victims Singh had. Of course, any vision
was possible with a change of scene in the basement.
I imagine it was a profitable investment, because there are
many fools in this world. What did the girl have
to do with it, asked Hatch. That I don't know,
replied the scientist. She was pretty. Perhaps she was used
as a sort of bait to attract a certain class
of men. She was really Singh's wife, I imagine, not
his sister. She was a prominent figure in the mummery
with Verick. Of course, with her aide, Singh was able
to lend great effectiveness to the general scheme. A couple
of days later, Howard Verick returned to the city in
tow of Philip Byrne Thinking Machine asked mister Verrick only
one question of consequence. How much money did you intend
to leave sing about? Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
was the reply. It was to be used, under his
direction in furthering an investigation into the psychic He and
I had planned just how it was to be spent. Personally,
mister Vereick is no longer interested in the occult end
of problem of the Crystal Gazer.