Mr. Kilbright’s business prospects soon began to look promising.  As was quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated.  But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his profession of surveying.  My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April.

It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days.  “As soon as possible after his arrival,” wrote Mr. Corbridge, “we shall resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to take charge during the time when we had no need of him.  He will then be dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our seances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally materialized the first time.  I promised you that I would give you at least three days’ notice of our intention to resume work on this subject, and I have now been much better than my word.  I have written very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause.  It will not be necessary for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are about to do.”

When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my hands.  It came upon me like a shower of iced water.  I had supposed that the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright.  Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal intentions greatly shocked me.  To be sure, the coming scientist might have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did not comfort me.  If the man had not already had success in that sort of thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now.