and, excusing  himself  to  Marie  Lou,
hurried  out,  wondering who in the world it could be since  no  one
knew  his  whereabouts. He was soon enlightened.  A  lilting  voice,
which  had  a  strong resemblance to that of Marlene Dietrich,  came
over the wire as he placed the receiver to his ear.
  'Is  that you, Rex? Oh, I am so glad I have found you. I must  see
you at once-quickly-without a moment's delay.'
  'Tanith!'  he  exclaimed. 'How did you tumble to  it  that  I  was
here?'
  'Oh,  never mind that! I will tell you when I see you. But  hurry,
please.'
  'Where are you then?'
  'At  the  village inn, no more than a mile from you.  Do  come  at
once. It is very urgent.'
  For a second Rex hesitated, but only for a second. Simon would  be
safe enough in the care of Richard and Marie Lou, and Tanith's voice
had  all the urgency and agitation of extreme fear. Anxiety for  her
had  been gnawing at his heart ever since he had heard of her  crash
the  previous  evening.  He knew that he  loved  her  now-loved  her
desperately.
  'All  right,'  he  answered, his voice shaking a  little.  Til  be
right over.'
  Running  back across the hall, he explained breathlessly to  Marie
Lou what had happened.
  'You  must  go  of course,' she said evenly. 'But you'll  be  back
before nightfall won't you, Rex?'
  'Sure.' All his animation seemed suddenly to have returned to  him
as,  with  a  quick grin, he hurried out, snatched up his  hat  and,
leaving  the house, set off at a long easy loping trot by the  short
cut across the meadows to the village.
  Unnoticed  by  him, a short figure entered the drive  just  as  he
disappeared  beyond the boundary of the garden. A few moments  later
the  newcomer was in conversation with Malin. The butler  knew  that
his  master was upstairs sitting with his friend Mr. Aron while  the
latter rested, and had given orders that he was not to be disturbed,
so leaving the visitor in the hall he crossed to Marie Lou's sitting-
room.
  'There  is a gentleman to see you, madam,' he announced quietly.'A
Mr. Mocata.'


                                 22

                            The Satanist

  For  a  moment Marie Lou hesitated, her eyes round with  surprise,
staring at the butler. In the last hour she had heard so much  about
this strange and terrifying visitor, but it had not occurred to  her
for  one  instant that she might be called upon to face him  in  the
flesh so soon.
  Her  first impulse was to send upstairs for Richard, but like many
people   who   possess  extremely  small  bodies,  her   brain   was
exceptionally quick. Rex and the Duke were both absent, and, if  she
sent  for Richard, Simon would be left alone-the one thing  that  De
Richleau  had  been  so insistent should not be allowed  to  happen.
True,   she  and  Richard  would  have  the  principal  enemy  under
observation themselves, but he had allies. It flashed upon her  that
this  girl Tanith was one perhaps and had purposely decoyed Rex away
to  the inn. Mocata might have others already waiting to lure  Simon
out  of  the  house  while  they were busy talking  to  him.  Almost
instantly her mind was made up. Richard must not leave Simon, so she
would have to interview Mocata on her own.
  'Show him in,' she told the butler evenly. 'But if I ring you  are
to come at once-immediately, you understand?'
  'Certainly, madam.' Malin softly withdrew, while Marie Lou  seated
herself  in  an armchair with her back to the light and within  easy
reach of the bell-push.
  Mocata  was  shown  in,  and she studied  him  curiously.  He  was
dressed  in  a suit of grey tweeds and wore a black stock  tie.  His
head,  large, bald and shiny, reminded her of an enormous  egg,  and
the  several  folds  of  his heavy chin protruded  above  his  stiff
collar.
  'I  do  hope you'll forgive me, Mrs. Eaton,' he began in  a  voice
that  was  musical  and charming, 'for calling on  you  without  any
invitation. But you may perhaps have heard my name.'
  She  nodded  slightly, carefully ignoring the hand which  he  half
extended as she motioned him to the armchair on the opposite side of
the  fireplace.  Marie Lou knew nothing of Esoteric  Doctrines,  but
quite enough from the peasants' superstitions which had been rife in
the  little  village where she had lived, an outcast of the  Russian
Revolution, to be aware that she must not touch this man, not  offer
him any form of refreshment while he was in her house.
  The  afternoon  sunshine played full upon  Mocata's  pink,  fleshy
countenance  as  he went on, 'I thought perhaps that  would  be  the
case.  Whether  the facts have been rightly represented  to  you,  I
don't know, but Simon Aron is a very dear friend of mine, and during
his recent illness I have been taking care of him.'
  'I  see,' she answered guardedly. 'Well, it was hardly put  to  me
in that way, but what is the purpose of your visit?'
  'I understand that Simon is with you now?'
  'Yes,' she replied briefly, feeling that it was senseless to  deny
it, 'and his visit to us will continue for some little time.'
  He smiled then, and with a little shock Marie Lou suddenly
  caught  herself  thinking that he was really quite  an  attractive
person. His strange light-coloured eyes showed a strong intelligence
and,  to  her  surprise, a glint of the most friendly humour,  which
almost  suggested  that he was about to conspire with  her  in  some
amusing  undertaking. His lisping voice, too, was strangely pleasant
and  restful  to  listen  to as he spoke again  in  perfect  English
periods,  only  a curious intonation of the vowel sounds  indicating
his French extraction.
  'The  country air would no doubt be excellent for him,  and  I  am
certain  that  nothing  could be more charming  for  him  than  your
hospitality. Unfortunately there are certain matters, of  which  you
naturally  know nothing, but which make it quite imperative  that  I
should take him back to London tonight.'
  'I am afraid that is quite impossible.'
  'I  see,'  Mocata looked thoughtfully for a moment  at  his  large
elastic-sided boots. 'I feared that you might take this attitude  to
begin  with,  because  I imagine our friend De  Rich-leau  has  been
filling  the  heads  of  your husband and  yourself  with  the  most
preposterous nonsense. I don't propose to go into that  now  or  his
reason  for it, but I do ask you to believe me, Mrs. Eaton,  when  I
say  that  Simon will be in very considerable danger if you  do  not
allow me to take him back into my care.'
  'No  danger  will come to him as long as he is in my house,'  said
Marie Lou firmly.
  'Ah,  my  dear young lady,' he sighed a little wistfully.  'I  can
hardly expect anyone like yourself to understand precisely what will
happen  to  our poor Simon if he remains here, but his mental  state
has  been unsatisfactory for some little time, and I alone can  cure
him  of his lamentable condition. Chocolates!' he added suddenly and
irrelevantly as his eyes rested upon a large box on a nearby  table.
'You'll  think  me  terribly  rude,  but  may  I?  I  simply   adore
chocolates.'
  'I'm  so  sorry,'  Marie Lou replied without  the  flicker  of  an
eyelash, 'but that box is empty. Do go on with what you were  saying
about Simon.'
  Mocata withdrew his hand, feeling himself unable to challenge  her
statement  by  opening  the  box to see,  and  Marie  Lou  found  it
difficult to repress a smile as he made a comically rueful face like
some greedy schoolboy who has been disappointed of a slice of cake.
  'Really!'  he exclaimed. 'What a pity. May I put it in the  waste-
paper  basket  for you then? To leave it about is  such  a  terrible
temptation for people like myself.' Before she could stop him he had
reached  out  again and picked up the box, realising immediately  by
its weight that she had lied to him.
  'No,  please,'  she put out her hand and almost snatched  the  box
from  his  pudgy fingers. 'I gave it to my little girl  to  put  her
marbles in-we mustn't throw it away.' The box gave a faint rustle as
she  laid  it down beside her, so she added swiftly: 'She puts  each
one  in the little paper cups that the chocolates are packed in  and
arranges them in rows. She would be terribly distressed if they were
upset.'
  Mocata  was not deceived by that ingenious fiction. He guessed  at
once her true reason for denying him the chocolates and was quick to
realise that in this lovely young woman, who stood no taller than  a
well-grown  child, he was up against a far cleverer antagonist  than
he  had at first supposed. However, he was amply satisfied with  the
progress  he had made so far, sensing that her first antagonism  had
already  given  way to a guarded interest. He must  talk  to  her  a
little,  his  eyes and voice would do the rest. For  a  moment  they
stared at each other in silence. Then he opened his attack in a  new
direction.
  'Mrs.  Eaton, it is quite obvious to me that you distrust me  and,
after what your friends have told you, I am not surprised. But  your
intelligence  emboldens me to think that I am  likely  to  serve  my
purpose  better  by putting my cards on the table  than  by  beating
about the bush.'
  'It will make no difference what you do,' said Marie Lou quietly.
  He  ignored  the  remark and went on in his low, slightly  lisping
voice. 'I do not propose to discuss with you the rights or wrongs of
practising the Magic Art. I will confine myself to saying that I  am
a  practitioner  of  some experience and Simon, who  has  interested
himself in these things for the past few months, shows great promise
of  one day achieving considerable powers. Monsieur De Richleau  has
probably  led  you to suppose that I am a most evil person.  But  in
fairness  to myself I must protest that such a view of me  is  quite
untrue.  In  magic, there is neither good nor evil. It is  only  the
science  of  causing change to occur by means of  will.  The  rather
sinister reputation attaching to it is easily accounted for  by  the
fact  that it had to be practised in secret for many centuries owing
to  the ban placed upon it by the Church. Anything which is done  in
secret naturally begets a reputation for mystery and, since it  dare
not  face  the  light  of  day,  the reverse  of  good.  Few  people
understand anything of these mysteries, and I can hardly assume that
you  have  more than vague impressions gathered from casual reading;
but  at  least I imagine you will have heard that genuine adepts  in
the  secret Art have the power to call certain entities,  which  are
not understood or admitted by the profane, into actual being.
  'Now  these are perfectly harmless as long as they are  under  the
control of the practitioner, just as a qualified electrician  stands
no risk in adjusting a powerful electric battery from which a child,
who  played foolishly with it, might receive a serious shock or even
death.  This  analogy applies to the work Simon and  I  are  engaged
upon. We have called a certain entity into being just as workers  in
another  sphere  might  have constructed an electrical  machine.  It
needs both of us to operate this thing with skill and safety, but if
I  am  to  be  left  to handle it alone, the forces  which  we  have
engendered will undoubtedly escape and do the very gravest harm both
to Simon and myself. Have I made the position clear?'
  'Yes,' murmured Marie Lou. During that long explanatory speech  he
had  been regarding her with a steady stare, and as she Listened  to
his  quiet,  cultured  voice expressing  what  seemed  such  obvious
truths, she felt her whole reaction to his personality changing.  It
suddenly seemed to her absurd that this nice, charming gentleman  in
the neat grey suit could be dangerous to anyone. His face seemed  to
have  lost its puffy appearance even while he was speaking, and  now
her  eyes  beheld it as only hairless, pink and clean like  that  of
some elderly divine.
  'I  am so glad,' he went on in his even, silky tone. 'I felt quite
sure  that  if  you allowed me a few moments I could clear  up  this
misunderstanding which has only arisen through the over-eagerness of
your  old  friend  the Duke, and that charming  young  American,  to
protect  Simon from some purely imaginary danger. If I had only  had
the  opportunity to explain to them personally I am quite  convinced
that I should have been able to save them a great deal of worry, but
I  only met them for a few moments one evening at Simon's house.  It
is  a  charming little place that, and he very kindly permits me  to
share it with him while I am in England. If you are in London during
the  next few weeks, I do hope that you will come and see us  there.
We  both know without asking that Simon would be delighted,  and  it
would  give  me the very greatest pleasure to show you my collection
of perfumes, which I always take with me when I travel.
  'As  a  matter  of  fact, I am rather an  expert  in  the  art  of
blending  perfumes,  and quite a number of  my  women  friends  have
allowed  me to make a special scent for them. It is a delicate  art,
and interesting, because each woman should have her own perfume made
to  conform  to  her aura and personality. You have  an  outstanding
individuality, Mrs. Eaton, and it would be a very great pleasure  if
you  would  allow  me  some  time to see if  I  could  not  compound
something really distinctive in that way for you.'
  'It  sounds  most  interesting,' Marie Lou's  voice  was  low  and
Mocata's  eyes still held hers. Really, she felt, despite his  bulk,
he was a most attractive person, and she had been quite stupid to be
a  little frightened of him when he first entered the room. The  May
sunshine came in gently-moving shafts through the foliage of a  tree
outside the window, so that the dappled light played upon his  face,
and  it was that, she thought, which gave her the illusion that  his
unblinking  eyes  were larger than when she had  first  looked  into
them.
  'When will the Duke be back?' he asked softly. 'Unfortunately,  my
visit today must be a brief one, but I should so much have liked  to
talk this matter over quietly with him before I go.'
  'I  don't  know,'  Marie  Lou found herself  answering.  'But  I'm
afraid he won't be back before six.'
  'And our American friend-the young giant,' he prompted her.
  "I've no idea. He has gone down to the village.'
  'I  see.  What  a  pity,  but  of  course  your  husband  is  here
entertaining Simon, is he not?'
  'Yes, they are upstairs together.'
  'Well,  presently I should like to explain to your  husband,  just
as  I have to you, how very important it is that I should take Simon
back  with me tonight, but I wonder first if I might beg a glass  of
water. Walking from the village has given me quite a thirst.'
  'Of  course,' Marie Lou rose to her feet automatically and pressed
the  bell. 'Wouldn't you prefer a cup of tea or a glass of wine  and
some   biscuits?'  she  added,  completely  now  under  the  strange
influence that radiated from hirn.
  'You  are most kind, but just a glass of water and a biscuit if  I
may.'
  Malin  already stood in the doorway and Marie Lou gave orders  for
these  slender refreshments. Then she sat down again,  and  Mocata's
talk  flowed  on easily and glibly, while her ears became  more  and
more attuned to that faint musical lisping intonation.
  The  butler  appeared with water and biscuits on a  tray  and  set
them down beside Mocata, but for the moment he took no notice of it.
Instead  he  looked again at Marie Lou, and said: 'I do hope  you'll
forgive  me asking, but have you recently been ill? You are  looking
as though you were terribly run down and very, very tired.'
  'No,'  said  Marie Lou slowly. 'I haven't been ill.' But  at  that
moment her limbs seemed to relax where she was sitting and her heavy
eyelids  weighed upon her eyes. For some unaccountable  reason,  she
felt an intense longing to shut them altogether and fall asleep.
  Mocata  watched her with a faint smile curving his full mouth.  He
had  her under his dominance now and knew it. Another moment and she
would  be  asleep. It would be easy to carry her into the next  room
and  leave  her  there, ring for the servant, ask him  to  find  his
master and when Richard arrived, say that she had gone out into  the
garden  to find him. Then another of those quiet little talks  which
he  knew  so  well  how  to  handle, even when  people  were  openly
antagonistic to him to begin with, and the master of the house would
also  pass Into a quiet, untroubled sleep. Then he would simply call
Simon by his will and they would leave the house together.
  Marie Lou's eyes flickered and shut. With a shake of her head  she
jerked them open again. 'I'm so sorry,' she said sleepily. 'But I am
tired, most awfully tired. What was it that you were talking about?'
  Mocata's  eyes seemed enormous to her now, as they  held  her  own
with  a solemn, dreamy look. 'We shall not talk any more,' he  said.
'You  will sleep, and at four o'clock on the afternoon of  7th  May,
you will call on me at Simon's house in St. John's Wood.'
  Marie  Lou's  heavy lashes fell on her rounded cheeks  again,  but
next second her eyes were wide open, for the door was flung back and
Fleur came scampering into the room.
  'Darling,  what is it?' Marie Lou struggled wide awake and  Mocata
snapped his plump fingers with a little angry, disappointed gesture.
The  sudden entrance of the child had broken the current of delicate
vibrations.
  'Mummy-mummy,'  Fleur  panted.  'Daddy-sent-me-to-find-you.  We'se
playing  hosses in the garden, an' Uncle Simon says he's  a  dwagon,
an'  not  a  boss  at all. Daddy says you're to come  and  tell  him
diffwent.'
  'So  tbis  is  your little daughter? What a lovely child,'  Mocata
said amiably, stretching out a hand to Fleur. 'Come here, my ...'
  But  Marie Lou cut short his sentence as full realisation  of  the
danger to which she had exposed herself flooded her mind. 'Don't you
touch  her!'  she cried, snatching up the child with  blazing  eyes.
'Don't you dare! '
  'Really,  Mrs.  Eaton,' he raised his eyebrows  in  mild  protest.
'Surely  you cannot think that I meant to hurt the child? I  thought
too, that we were beginning to understand each other so well.'
  'You  beast,' Marie Lou cried angrily as she jabbed her finger  on
the bell. 'You tried to hypnotise me.'
  'What  nonsense,' he smiled good-humouredly. 'You  were  a  little
tired, but I fear I bored you rather with a long dissertation-  upon
things  which can hardly interest a woman so young and  charming  as
yourself.  It  was most stupid of me, and I hardly wonder  that  you
nearly fell asleep.'
  As   Malin  arrived  on  the  scene  she  thrust  Fleur  into  the
astonished  butler's arms and gasped: 'Fetch Mr. Eaton-he's  in  the
garden- quickly-at once.'
  The  butler hurried off with Fleur and Mocata turned on  her.  His
eyes  had gone cold and steely. 'It is vital that I should at  least
see Simon before I leave this house.'
  'You  shan't,' she stormed. 'You had better go before  my  husband
comes. D'you hear?' Then she found herself looking at him again, and
quickly  jerked her head away so that she should not see  his  eyes,
yet  she  caught his gesture as he stooped to pick up the  glass  of
water from the table.
  Furious now at the way she had been tricked into ordering
  it  for  him, and determining that he should not drink, she sprang
forward  and, before he could stop her, dashed the little  table  to
the  ground. The plate caught the carafe as it fell and  smashed  it
into a dozen pieces, the biscuits scattered and the water spread  in
a shallow, widening lake upon the carpet. Mocata swung round with an
angry snarl. This small, sensuous, catlike creature had cheated  him
at  the  last, and the placid, kindly expression of his face changed
to  one  of hideous demoniacal fury. His eyes, muddled now with  all
the   foulness  of  his  true  nature,  stripped  and  flayed   her,
threatening  a thousand unspeakable abominations in their  unwinking
stare as she-faced him across the fallen table.
  Suddenly,  with a fresh access of terror, Marie Lou cowered  back,
bringing  up  her  hands  to shield her face  from  those  revolting
eyeballs. Then a quick voice in the doorway exclaimed: 'Hello!  What
is all this?'
  'Richard,' she gasped. 'Richard, it's Mocata! I saw him because  I
thought you'd better stay with Simon, but he tried to hypnotise  me.
Have him thrown out. Oh, have him thrown out.'
  The  muscles  in Richard's lean face tightened as  he  caught  the
look of terror in his wife's eyes and thrusting her aside he took  a
quick  step towards Mocata. 'If you weren't twice my age and  in  my
house,  I'd  smash your face in,' he said savagely. 'And that  won't
stop me either unless you get out thundering quick.'
  With  almost  incredible  swiftness Mocata  had  his  anger  under
control.  His face was benign and smiling once more, as he shrugged,
showing no trace of panic. 'I'm afraid your wife is a little upset,'
he  said  mildly.  'It is this spring weather,  and  while  we  were
talking together, she nearly fell asleep. Having heard all sorts  of
extraordinary things about me from your friends, she scared  herself
into  thinking that I tried to hypnotise her. I apologise profoundly
for having caused her one moment's distress.'
  'I  don't believe one word of that,' replied Richard. 'Now  kindly
leave the house.'
  Mocata  shrugged  again.  'You are being  very  unreasonable,  Mr.
Eaton.  I called this afternoon in order to take Simon Aron back  to
London.'
  'Well, you're not going to.'
  'Please,' Mocata held up his protesting hand. 'Hear me for
  one   moment.   The   whole  situation  has  been   most   gravely
misrepresented  to  you, as I explained to your  wife,  and  if  she
hadn't suddenly started to imagine things we should be discussing it
quite  amicably now. In fact, I even asked her to send for  you,  as
she will tell you herself.'
  'It  was  a  trick,' cried Marie Lou angrily. 'Don't look  at  his
eyes, Richard, and for God's sake turn him out!'
  'You  hear,' Richard's voice held a threatening note and his  face
was white. 'You had better go-before I lose my temper.'
  'It's  a pity that you are so pig-headed, my young friend,' Mocata
snapped  icily.  'By retaining Simon here, you are bringing  extreme
peril  both  on  him and on yourself. But since  you  refuse  to  be
reasonable  and let me take him with me, let me at least  have  five
minutes' conversation with him alone.'
  'Not  five  seconds,'  Richard  stood  aside  from  the  door  and
motioned through it for Mocata to pass into the hall.
  'All  right! If that is your final word!' Mocata drew himself  up.
He  seemed  to grow in size and strength even as he stood  there.  A
terrible  force and energy suddenly began to shake his  obese  body.
They felt it radiating from him as his words came low and clear like
the  whispering splash of death-cold drops falling from icicles upon
a frozen lake.
  'Then  I  will  send the Messenger to your house  tonight  and  he
shall take Simon from you ah've-or dead!'
  'Get  out,'  gritted  Richard between his teeth,  'Damn  you-  get
out!'
  Without  another word Mocata left them. Marie Lou crossed herself,
and  with Richard's arm about her shoulder they followed him to  the
door.
  He  did  not turn or once look back, but plodded heavily,  a  very
ordinary figure now, down the long, sunlit drive.
  Richard suddenly felt Marie Lou's small body tremble against  him,
and with a little cry of fright she buried her head on his shoulder.
'Oh,  darling,'  she wailed. 'I'm frightened of that man-frightened.
Did you see?'
  'See what, my sweet?' he asked, a little puzzled.
    'Why!' sobbed Marie Lou. 'He is walking in the sunshine -but  he
has no shadow!'


                                 23

                        The Pride of Peacocks

  The  inn which served the village near Cardinals Folly was  almost
as  old  as the house. At one period it had been a hostelry of  some
importance,  but the changing system of highways in  the  eighteenth
century had left it denuded of the coaching traffic and doomed  from
then  on  to  cater  only for the modest wants of  the  small  local
population.  It  had been added to and altered many times;  for  one
long  period falling almost wholly into disrepair, since its revenue
was  insufficient for its upkeep, and so it had remained until a few
years  earlier upon the retirement of Mr. Jeremiah Wilkes,  the  ex-
valet of a wealthy peer who lived not far distant.
  Only  the  fact  that Mr. Wilkes suffered from  chronic  sciatica,
which rendered it impossible for him to travel any more with his old
master,  had made his retirement necessary, and through  those  long
years  of  packing just the right garments that his  lordship  might
need  for  Cowes, Scotland or the French Riviera and exercising  his
incomparable facility for obtaining the most comfortable seats  upon
trains which were already full, he had always had it in the back  of
his  mind  that he would like to be the proprietor of a  gentlemanly
'house.'
  When  the  question  of  his retirement had  been  discussed,  and
Jeremiah had named the ambition of his old age, his master had  most
generously  suggested the purchase and restoration of the  old  inn,
but  voiced his doubts of Jeremiah's ability to run it at a  profit;
stating  that  capital  was very necessary to  the  success  of  any
business, and adding in his innocence that he did not feel  Jeremiah
could  have  saved a sufficient sum despite the long period  in  his
employment.
  In  this,  of course, his lordship was entirely wrong.  Jeremiah's
wage  might have been a modest one but, while protecting his  master
from many generations of minor thieves, he had gathered in the time-
honoured  perquisites which were his due and, since he  had  stoutly
resisted the efforts of his fellow servants to interest him in  'the
horses,'   he  owned  investments  in  property  which  would   have
considerably amazed his master.
  Mr.  Wilkes,  therefore, had modestly stated that  he  thought  he
might  manage  providing that his lordship would be good  enough  to
send   him  such  friends  or  their  retainers  as  could  not   be
accommodated at the Court when shooting parties and such  like  were
in  progress. This having been arranged satisfactorily,  Mr.  Wilkes
underwent the metamorphosis from a gentleman's gentleman to host  of
'The Pride of Peacocks.'
  Very  soon the old inn began to thrive again; quietly, of  course,
since  it was no road-house for noisy motorists. But it became  well
known  among a certain select few who enjoyed a peaceful weekend  in
lovely  scenery,  and  Mr.  Wilkes' admirable  attention  to  these,
together with his wife's considerable knowledge of the culinary art,
never caused them to question their Monday morning bill.
  Jeremiah  had  further added to the attraction  of  the  place  by
stocking a cellar with variety and taste from his lordship's  London
wine  merchant  on  terms  extremely advantageous  to  himself,  and
moreover  to the added well-being of the neighbourhood. The  hideous
and  childish tyranny of licensing hours never affected him  in  the
least  for  the  simple reason that all his customers were  personal
friends, including, of course, the magistrates upon the local bench,
and  had some officious policeman from the town ever questioned  the
fact  that gentlemen were to be found there quite frequently in  the
middle  of  the  afternoon taking a little modest refreshment,  they
would  have quailed under the astonished and supercilious glance  of
the  good Mr. Wilkes, together with the freezing statement that this
was  no monetary transaction, but the gentlemen concerned were doing
him the honour to give him their opinion upon his latest purchase in
the way ot port.
  In  short,  it  will be gathered that this ancient hostelry  could
provide  all  the comfort which any reasonable person might  demand,
and  was  something a little out of the ordinary for a village  inn.
Rex,  of  course,  knew the place well from his previous  visits  to
Cardinals Folly and, a little out of breath from the pace  at  which
he had come, hurried into the low, comfortably furnished lounge, the
old oak beams of which almost came down to his head,
  Tanith  was  there alone. Immediately she saw him  she  jumped  up
from  her chair and ran to meet him, gripping both his hands in hers
with a strength surprising for her slender fingers.
  She  was  pale  and weary. Her green linen dress was  stained  and
mired  from  her  terrible journey on the previous  night,  although
obviously  she  had  done her best to tidy herself.  Her  eyes  were
shadowed  from strain and lack of sleep, seeming unnaturally  large,
and she trembled slightly as she clutched at him.
  'Oh, thank God you've come!' she cried.
  'But  how  did  you know I was at Cardinals Folly?' he  asked  her
quickly.
  'My  dear,'  she  sank down in the chair again, drawing  her  hand
wearily  across her eyes. 'I am terribly sorry about last  night.  I
think  I  was  mad when I stole your car and tried  to  get  to  the
Sabbat. I crashed of course, but I expect you will have heard  about
that-and then I did the last five miles on foot.'
  'Good God! Do you mean to say you got there after all?'
  She  nodded and told him of that nightmare walk from Easterton  to
the  Satanic  Festival. As she came to the part in her story  where,
against her will, she had been drawn down into the valley, her  eyes
once more expressed the hideous terror which she had felt.
  'I  could not help myself,' she said. 'I tried to resist with  all
my  mind  but  my  feet simply moved against my will.  Then,  for  a
moment,  I thought that the heavens had opened and an angry God  had
suddenly decided to strike those blasphemous people dead. There  was
a noise like thunder and two giant eyes like those of some nightmare
monster  seemed to leap out of the darkness right at me. I screamed,
I  think,  and  jumped aside. I remember falling  and  springing  up
again.  The power that had held my feet seemed to have been suddenly
released and I fled up the hill in absolute panic. When I got to the
top I tripped over something and then I must have fainted.'
  Rex  smiled.  That was us in the car,' he said. 'But how  did  you
know where to find me?'
  'It  was not very difficult,' she told him. 'When I came to, I was
lying on the grass and there wasn't a sound to show that there was a
living  soul within miles of me. I started off at a run without  the
faintest  idea where I was going-my only thought being to  get  away
from  that  terrible valley. Then when I was absolutely exhausted  I
fell  again,  and I must have been so done in that  I  slept  for  a
little in a ditch.
  'When I woke up, it was morning and I found that I was quite  near
a main road. I limped along it not knowing what I should come to and
then  I  saw houses and a straggling street and, after a  little,  I
discovered that I had walked into Devizes.
  'I  went  into the centre of the town and was about to go into  an
hotel when I realised that I had no money; but I had a brooch, so  I
found  a  jeweller's and sold it to them-or rather, they  agreed  to
advance me twenty pounds, because I didn't want to part with it  and
it  must be worth at least a hundred. An awfully nice old man  there
agreed  to keep it as security until I could send him the  money  on
from  London. Then I did go to the hotel, took a room and  tried  to
think things over.
  'Such an extraordinary lot seemed to have happened since you  took
me  off  in your car from Claridges yesterday that at first I  could
not  get  things straight at ail, but one thing stood out absolutely
clearly.  Whether  it was you or the vision of my  mother,  I  don't
know, but my whole outlook had changed completely. How I could  ever
have  allowed  myself to listen to Madame D'Urfe and do  the  things
I've  done I just can't think. But I know now that I've been in  the
most  awful  danger,  and that I must try and  get  free  of  Mocata
somehow.  Anyone would think me mad, and possibly I am, to  come  to
you  like this when I hardly know you, but the whole thing has  been
absolutely  outside all ordinary experiences. I am  terribly  alone,
Rex, and you are the only person in the world that I can turn to.'
  She  sank  back in her chair almost exhausted with the  effort  of
endeavouring to impress him with her feelings, but he leant  forward
and,  taking  one  of  her  hands in his great  leg-of-mutton  fist,
squeezed it gently.
  'There,  there,  my sweet.' Speaking from his heart  he  used  the
endearment  quite naturally and unconsciously. 'You  did  the  right
thing every time. Don't you worry any more. Nobody is going to  hurt
a hair of your head now you've got here safely. But how in the world
did you do it?'
  Her  eyes  opened again and she smiled faintly. 'My only hope  was
to throw myself on your protection, so I had to find you somehow and
that part wasn't difficult. All systems of divination are merely  so
many  methods of obscuring the outer vision, in order that the inner
may  become clear. Tea-leaves, crystals, melting wax, lees of  wine,
cards, water, entrails, birds, sieve-turning, sand and all the rest.
  'I  wanted sleep terribly when I got to that hotel bedroom, but  I
knew  that I mustn't allow myself to, so I took some paper from  the
lounge,  and  borrowed a pencil. Then I threw myself into  a  trance
with the paper before me and the pencil in my hand. When I looked at
it  again I had quite enough information scribbled down to enable me
to follow you here.'
  Rex  accepted this amazing explanation quite calmly. Had  he  been
told  such  a  thing a few days before he would have  considered  it
fantastic, but now it never even occurred to him that it was in  any
way  extraordinary  that a woman desiring to  know  his  whereabouts
should throw herself into a trance and employ automatic writing.
  She  glanced at the old grandfather clock which stood ticking away
in  a  corner  of the low-raftered room. Half an hour  had  sped  by
already and he was feeling guilty now at having left Simon. He would
never be able to forgive himself if, in his absence, any harm befell
his  friend.  Now that he knew Tanith was safe he must get  back  to
Cardinals  Folly, so he announced abruptly: 'I'm mighty  sorry,  but
I've got Simon to look after so I can't stay here much longer.'
  'Oh,  Rex,'  her eyes held his imploringly. 'You must  not  unless
you  take me with you. If you leave me alone, Mocata will be certain
to get me.'
  For  a moment Rex hesitated miserably, wrestling with the quandary
that  faced  him.  If  Tanith was telling  the  truth,  he  couldn't
possibly leave her to be drawn back by that terrible power of  evil.
But was she? So far she had been Mocata's puppet. How much truth was
there  in  this  pretended change of heart? Had Mocata  planted  her
there in order to lure him deliberately away from Simon's side?
  It  occurred  to  him  that he might take her  back  with  him  to
Cardinals  Folly, for if she was speaking the truth she was  in  the
same  case  as  Simon. They could keep the two of them together  and
concentrate  their  forces  against  the  black  magician.  But   he
dismissed the idea almost as soon as it entered his mind. To  do  so
would  be  playing Mocata's game with a vengeance.  If  Tanith  were
acting  consciously or unconsciously under his influence, God  alone
knew  what  powers  she might possess to aid her  master  once  they
accepted  her  as a friend in their midst. If he took her  there  it
would  be  like  introducing one of the  enemy  into  a  beleaguered
fortress.
  'What  are  you  afraid  might happen if I leave  you?'  he  asked
suddenly.
  'You can't-you mustn't,' her eyes pleaded with him, 'Not only  for
my  own sake, but your friends' as well. Mocata has a hundred  means
of  knowing where Simon is and where I am too. He may arrive here at
any  moment. It's no good pretending Rex. I know beyond any question
that I cannot resist him and he'll work through me, however much  my
will is set against it. He's told me a dozen times that he has never
met  a  woman who is such a successful medium for him as myself.  So
you can be certain that he is on his way here now.'
  'What d'you think he'll do when he turns up?'
  'He  will  throw me into a trance and call Simon to him.  Then  if
Simon fails to come Mocata may curse him through me.'
  Rex  shrugged. 'Don't worry. De Richleau's a wily old bird.  He'll
turn the curse aside some way.'
  'But  you  don't seem to understand,' she sobbed. 'If a  curse  is
sent  out  it  must lodge somewhere, and if it fails  to  reach  its
objective  because  there  is an equally  strong  influence  working
against it, the vibrations recoil and impinge upon the sender.'
  'Steady now.' He took her hands and tried to soothe her. 'If  that
is so I guess we couldn't find a better way to tickle up Mocata.'
  'No-no!! He never does things himself-at least I have never  known
him  to-just in case he fails, because then he would have to pay the
penalty.  Instead, he uses other people -hypnotises them  and  makes
them  throw out the thought or the wish. That is what he will do  to
me. If he succeeds, you will no longer be able to protect Simon, and
if he fails, it is I who will pay the price. That is why you've just
got to stay with me and prevent him using me as his instrument.'
  'Holy  smoke! Then we're in a proper jam!' Rex's brain was working
swiftly.  If she were telling the truth, she was in real danger.  If
not, at least Simon still had Richard and Marie Lou to take care  of
him until the Duke's return.
  All  his  chivalry  and  his love for her  which  seemed  to  have
blossomed  overnight welled up and told him that he must chance  her
honesty and remain there to protect her. 'All right, I'll stay,'  he
said after a moment.
  'Oh, thank God!' she sighed. 'Thank God!'
  'But  tell me,' he went on, 'just why is it you're such a  kingpin
medium to this man? What about old Madame D'Urfe and the rest? Can't
he do his stuff through them?'
  Tanith looked at him through tear-dimmed eyes and shook her  head.
'Not  in  the  same  way. You see there is rather  an  unusual  link
between us. My number is twenty and so is his.'
  Rex  frowned. 'What exactly do you mean by that?' he  asked  in  a
puzzled voice.
  'I mean our astrological number,' she replied quietly. 'Give me  a
piece of paper, and I will show you.'
  Rex  handed her a few sheets from a nearby table and a pencil from
his  waistcoat  pocket, then she quickly drew  out  a  list  of  the
numerical values to the letters of the alphabet: -

         A=1           K=2           S=3
         B=2           L=3           T=4
         C=3           M=4           U=6
         D=4           N=5           V=6
         E=5           O=7           W=6
         F=5           P=8           X=5
         G=3           Q=1           Y=1
         H=5           R=2           Z=7
         I or J=1

  'There!'  she  went on. 'By substituting numbers  for  letters  in
anyone's  name and adding them up you get their occult number  which
indicates  the  planet that influences them most  in  all  spiritual
affairs.  It  must  be  the name by which they  are  most  generally
known-even if it is a pet name. Now look!'

         M=4                   T=4
         O=7                   A=1
         C=3                   N=5
         A=1                   I=1
         T=4                   T=4
         A=1                   H=5
         ____                  ____
             20   2+0=2            20
                           2+0=2

  'You  see how closely our vibrations are attuned. Two is the value
of  the  Moon,  to which both he and I are subject,  and  any  names
having   a  total  numerical  value  which  reduce  by  progresssive
additions  to two, such as eleven or twenty-nine or thirty-eight  or
forty-seven, would give us some affinity, but that they actually add
up  to the same compound number shows that we are attuned to a  very
remarkable  degree. That is why I have proved such an  exceptionally
good medium for him to work through.'
  'But you are utterly different from him,' Rex protested,
  'Of  course,'  she  nodded gravely. 'One's birth  date  gives  the
material  number,  which is generally that  of  another  planet  and
modifies the influence of the spiritual number considerably.  As  it
happens mine is May 2nd-again a two you see, so I am an almost  pure
type.  Moon  people  are intensely imaginative, artistic,  romantic,
gentle  by  nature and not very strong physically. They  are  rather
over-sensitive  and lacking in self-co