who laughed. In the end Jacobsen and I left the "circle" and the

cabin, which was locked behind us; only Bastin and Bickley



remaining there in the dark. Presently we heard sounds of

altercation, and Bickley emerged looking very red in the face,



followed by Bastin, who was saying:

"Can I help it if something pulled your nose and snatched off



your eyeglasses, which anyhow are quite useless to you when there

is no light? Again, is it possible for me, sitting on the other



side of that table, to have placed the concertina on your head

and made it play the National Anthem, a thing that I have not the



slightest idea how to do?"

"Please do not try to explain," snapped Bickley. "I am



perfectly aware that you deceived me somehow, which no doubt you

think a good joke."



"My dear fellow," I interrupted, "is it possible to imagine old

Basil deceiving anyone?"



"Why not," snorted Bickley, "seeing that he deceives himself

from one year's end to the other?"



"I think," said Bastin, "that this is an unholy business and

that we are both deceived by the devil. I will have no more to do



with it," and he departed to his cabin, probably to say some

appropriate prayers.



After this the seances were given up but Jacobsen produced an

instrument called a planchette and with difficulty persuaded



Bickley to try it, which he did after many precautions. The

thing, a heart-shaped piece of wood mounted on wheels and with a



pencil stuck at its narrow end, cantered about the sheet of paper

on which it was placed, Bickley, whose hands rested upon it,



staring at the roof of the cabin. Then it began to scribble and

after a while stopped still.



"Will the Doctor look?" said Jacobsen. "Perhaps the spirits

have told him something."



"Oh! curse all this silly talk about spirits," exclaimed

Bickley, as he arranged his eyeglasses and held up the paper to



the light, for it was after dinner.

He stared, then with an exclamation which I will not repeat,



and a glance of savagesuspicion at the poor Dane and the rest of

us, threw it down and left the cabin. I picked it up and next



moment was screaming with laughter. There on the top of the sheet

was a rough but entirely recognizable portrait of Bickley with



the accordion on his head, and underneath, written in a delicate,

Italian female hand, absolutely different from his own, were



these words taken from one of St. Paul's Epistles--"Oppositions

of science falsely so called." Underneath them again in a



scrawling, schoolboy fist, very like Bastin's, was inscribed,

"Tell us how this is done, you silly doctor, who think yourself



so clever."

"It seems that the devil really can quote Scripture," was



Bastin's only comment, while Jacobsen stared before him and

smiled.



Bickley never alluded to the matter, but for days afterwards I

saw him experimenting with paper and chemicals, evidentlytrying



to discover a form of invisible ink which would appear upon the

application of the hand. As he never said anything about it, I



fear that he failed.

This planchette business had a somewhat curious ending. A few



nights later Jacobsen was working it and asked me to put a

question. To oblige him I inquired on what day we should reach



Fremantle, the port of Perth. It wrote an answer which, I may

remark, subsequently proved to be quite correct.



"That is not a good question," said Jacobsen, "since as a

sailor I might guess the reply. Try again, Mr. Arbuthnot."



"Will anything remarkable happen on our voyage to the South

Seas?" I inquired casually.



The planchette hesitated a while then wrote rapidly and

stopped. Jacobsen took up the paper and began to read the answer



aloud--"To A, B the D, and B the C, the most remarkable things

will happen that have happened to men living in the world."



"That must mean me, Bickley the doctor and Bastin the

clergyman," I said, laughing.



Jacobsen paid no attention, for he was reading what followed.

As he did so I saw his face turn white and his eyes begin to



start from his head. Then suddenly he tore the paper in pieces

• steamer [´sti:mə] n.汽船；轮船；蒸笼 (初中英语单词)


• beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• celebrate [´selibreit] vt.庆祝；表扬；赞美 (初中英语单词)


• confusion [kən´fju:ʒən] n.混乱(状态)；骚乱 (初中英语单词)


• suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)


• combine [kəm´bain] v.(使)结合；联合企业 (初中英语单词)


• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)


• writer [´raitə] n.作者；作家 (初中英语单词)


• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)


• wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• vessel [´vesəl] n.容器；船；脉管 (初中英语单词)


• unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl] a.不平常的；异常的 (初中英语单词)


• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)


• worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)


• otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)


• arrangement [ə´reindʒmənt] n.整理；排列；筹备 (初中英语单词)


• thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)


• bishop [´biʃəp] n.主教 (初中英语单词)


• departure [di´pɑ:tʃə] n.离开，出发 (初中英语单词)


• refuge [´refju:dʒ] v.&n.避难(所)；庇护 (初中英语单词)


• voyage [´vɔi-idʒ] n.&vi.航海；航程；旅行 (初中英语单词)


• inspect [in´spekt] v.检查；视察；检阅 (初中英语单词)


• crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)


• agreeable [ə´gri:əbəl] a.适合的；符合的 (初中英语单词)


• argument [´ɑ:gjumənt] n.辩论；争论；论证 (初中英语单词)


• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)


• western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)


• canvas [´kænvəs] n.帆布；油画(布) (初中英语单词)


• companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)


• entertainment [,entə´teinmənt] n.招(款)待；联欢会 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)


• savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)


• underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)


• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)


• absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)


• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)


• evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)


• invisible [in´vizəbəl] a.看不见的；无形的 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• oblige [ə´blaidʒ] vt.责成；迫使；使感激 (初中英语单词)


• remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的；显著的 (初中英语单词)


• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)


• continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• millionaire [,miljə´neə] n.百万富翁 (高中英语单词)


• peculiarity [pi,kju:li´æriti] n.特色；特性；怪癖 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• certificate [sə´tifikət] n.执照；文凭 vt.批准 (高中英语单词)


• personally [´pə:sənəli] ad.亲自；就个人来说 (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• remainder [ri´meində] n.剩余物；残余部分 (高中英语单词)


• destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)


• exceedingly [ik´si:diŋli] ad.非常地，极度地 (高中英语单词)


• christianity [,kristi´æniti] n.基督教；基督精神 (高中英语单词)


• progressive [prə´gresiv] a.进步的；前进的 (高中英语单词)


• detect [di´tekt] vt.发觉；侦察 (高中英语单词)


• portrait [´pɔ:trit] n.肖像；相片；雕像 (高中英语单词)


• ending [´endiŋ] n.结尾，结局 (高中英语单词)


• subsequently [´sʌbsikwəntli] a.其次，接着 (高中英语单词)


• sundry [´sʌndri] a.各式各样的，各式的 (英语四级单词)


• theology [θi´ɔlədʒi] n.神学 (英语四级单词)


• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)


• indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)


• exclamation [,eksklə´meiʃən] n.喊(惊)叫；感叹词 (英语四级单词)


• penance [´penəns] n.悔过；(赎罪的)苦行 (英语六级单词)


• whereon [weər´ɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语六级单词)


• extraordinarily [ik´strɔ:dənərili] ad.非常，特别地 (英语六级单词)


• thames [temz] n.泰晤士河 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)


• phenomena [fi´nɔminə] phenomenon的复数 (英语六级单词)


• anthem [´ænθəm] n.圣歌；赞歌 (英语六级单词)


• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)