“No, sweet, she did it,” he said.  He turned to Rosalie.  “Take this revolver and keep order for me.  Annette ought not to stand any longer.”  Still keeping her head on his shoulder, he seated her beside him on a couch.  “She has never heard this before, Mr. Norcross, and you must know what a shock she is suffering.  This is a desperate case, and it required a desperate remedy.  That accounts for this drama to-night.  Mme. Le Grange there is housekeeper of this place, and my agent.  Putting her in this house was part of the remedy.  Fifteen minutes ago, she and I entered the room where Miss Markham lay in hypnotic trance, waiting to go down to you.  I supplemented Mrs. Markham’s suggestion by a command of my own—­you know what it was.  I took a risk.  One never knows whether a hypnotic subject—­even such a perfect one as this—­will obey a supplementary suggestion.  Had it failed, had she started back toward the ladder, I should have turned on the lights and seized the spook in the vulgar manner, and Mrs. Markham would have had the thousand excuses which a professional medium can give in such circumstances.  But Annette obeyed—­she even woke on my command before she had fulfilled the whole of Mrs. Markham’s suggestion—­because we love each other.  That made the difference.”  He drew Annette’s head closer on his shoulder.  “I’m going to take her away to-night.  She’s done with all this.”  He turned to Mrs. Markham.  Her hand still rested on the keyboard.  Her face was pale, but her lips wore a sneering smile.  “It is your turn, Madame,” he said.

“I lose gracefully,” answered Mrs. Markham, “yet if Mr. Norcross will think very carefully, he may realize that I am not all a loser.”

Rosalie crossed the room to Dr. Blake.  “Here, you take this thing,” she said, extending the revolver, “it makes me nervous, an’ I told you at the start there wasn’t no use of it.”

And now, something had clicked in Norcross again.  His mouth had closed like a vise, light had come back to his eyes; he was again the Norcross of the street.

“You’re a devil,” he said, “but you’re a marvelously clever woman—­”

“So clever,” responded Mrs. Markham in dulcet tones, “that I intend never to worry about finances again—­by your leave, Mr. Norcross.”

“That means blackmail, I suppose,” said Norcross.

“Now, Mr. Norcross, I beg of you,” protested Mrs. Markham, “I have never used harsh names for unpleasant truths with you!  Do me the same courtesy.  You will agree, I think, that the Norcross interests would suffer if people knew that Robert H. Norcross was running to spirit mediums—­my business is little appreciated.  The newspapers, Mr. Norcross—­”

“Would any newspaper believe you?” asked Norcross.

“An admirable method,” responded Mrs. Markham, “an admirable method of getting these people before the public as witnesses”—­her gesture indicated Dr. Blake and Rosalie—­“would be to sue for custody of my niece, whom this young man intends, I believe, to take away tonight.  Certain unusual features of this case would charm the newspapers.”