Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/381

 to do something for her in any case, daughter or not. Her name is Miss Maverick."

"Does she resemble you or your wife?"

"Why, the funny part of it is that she does, in a faraway sort of fashion. I noticed that she was lefthanded, too, like me. Blue eyes; but her hair was hennaed, so I couldn't tell about that. Cute little thing, she is. Confound it! I did like her immensely, at first sight."

"Well," said the Seer, after reflecting a while, "I must confess that you have set a difficult problem for me. But I think that it can be determined through astral means. No doubt you have consulted some medium already?"

"Oh, they're all a lot of fakers! They told me that the boy was mine and that the girl was, too, both."

"I agree with you. The ordinary mediums are an ignorant and unscrupulous lot. I have occult methods unknown except in the Himalayas. But it will be difficult, I am afraid. But may I ask you what is the matter with your eyes, Colonel?"

The colonel stared. "My eyes? Nothing except a slight astigmatism. I have some glasses; but I seldom wear them. Why?"

"They seem peculiar to me. You know that the eye has been called the 'window of the soul'. The phrase is trite; but it contains a germ of truth. I can tell a great deal from the eye, as much as from the palm or the voice. If you don't mind, I'd like to examine yours with the ophthalmoscope. My methods are my own; but I don't hesitate to make use of the instruments known to modern science. After all, the ophthalmo-