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"May I speak quite freely, please?" he asked, looking straight at her

"Please, please," she said, with that touch of childish intensity that her friends thought so innocent and beautiful

"Well, it's like this," said Laurie "I've always rather disliked all that kind of thing, more than I can say It did seem to me so--well--so feeble, don't you know; and then I'm a Catholic, you see, and so--"

"Yes; yes?"

"Well, I've been reading Mr Stainton Moses, and one or two other books; and I reat rubbish; and then there are any amount of frauds, aren't there, Mrs Stapleton, in that line?"

"Alas! Ah, yes!"

"But then I don't knohat to make of some of the evidence that re at all, therereal at the back of it all And then, if that is so, if it really is true that it is possible to get into actual touch with people who are dead--I mean really and truly, so that there's no kind of doubt about it--well, that does see in the world Do you see?"

She kept her eyes on his face for an instant or two Plainly he was really ht and his hands were clasped tightly enough over his knee to whiten the knuckles She reirl, and understood But she perceived that sheh to see by his ether like her

She nodded pensively once or twice Then she turned to hiht smile "I understand entirely," she said "May I too speak quite freely? Yes? Well, I alad you have spoken out Of course, we are quite accusto distrusted and feared After all, it is the privilege of all truth-seekers to suffer, is it not? Well, I will say what is in ht about so dishonest sometimes They are, Mr Baxter, I have seen more than one, myself, exposed But that is natural, is it not? Why, there have been bad Catholics, too, have there not? And, after all, we are only hureat temptation sometimes not to send people away disappointed You have heard those stories, I expect, Mr Baxter?"