. . . set-backs, but you are[Pg 47] improving. You show it in your face. And your letter showed it. I read your letter carefully—studied it and—”

“You haven't seen Captain Herrick?” she asked eagerly.

“Not yet. I have asked him to dine with me this evening.”

Penelope sighed wearily and twined her fingers together in nervous agitation.

“It's all so distressing. I can't understand it. Why did I see myself in that bowl of gold fish, so distinctly? Tell me—why?”

“You mustn't take that seriously, Mrs. Wells. These crystal visions are common enough—the books are full of them. It's a phenomenon of self-hypnotism. You are in a broken-down nervous condition after months of excessive strain—that's all, and these hallucinations result, just as colored shapes and patterns appear when you shut your eyes tight and press your fingers against the eye-balls.”Read More