Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/240

 "Yes. She is sincerely in love now; though she hasn't yet forgotten her first. You see by the regularity of her terminals, too, that she's a faithful friend. But to return to the crossings: let us compare these with some others."

He looked over the collection and drew forth another specimen. "Here you see a woman that has had but one affair, and has quite outlived it. The arc is that of the top of a circle, you see. Here's one who is beginning to be in love. You will observe the same arc as in the first,—a rising curve, but no compound curves. If you thoroughly understand this principle, we'll go on to a study of terminals and gladiated words." As he spoke his face lighted up with enthusiasm.

A bell, softly tinkling, interrupted him. With a sudden gesture he swept all the letters into a heap and tossed them into a drawer. That done, he became again the calm impassive Seer. He drew his red silken robe about him as Valeska rose to answer the bell. He followed her svelt graceful form with alert eyes till she disappeared in the waiting-room; then they fell abstractedly on the slow, gracefully-rising, blue, perfumed smoke of the censer in a corner of the dim studio and remained there until the curtains again parted.

The visitor was a fine military type of man, with white mustache and iron-gray hair, tall and well-built, but with a face drawn and haggard. He strode up to Astro with a determined air. The Seer awaited the first words calmly.

"My name is Burbank," the man began,—"Major Burbank, retired. I have come to you on an important and delicate piece of business, at the advice of a friend