It seems that I know about it. I do not hesitate to answer. It
must be that I have been consulting the crystal, for I seem sure of what
I say to them! I point toward the door--or is it at something on the
wall--or is it a person? Ah, the picture is gone from the crystal!"
"How irritating!" cried Lady Annesley-Seton, who felt that supernatural
forces ought to be subject to her convenience. "Can't you make it come
back if you concentrate?"
Madalena shook her head. "No, it will not come back. I am sure of that,
because when the crystal clouds as if milk were pouring into it, I know
that I shall never see the same picture again. Whether it is a cross
current in myself or the crystal, I cannot tell; but it amounts to the
same thing. I am sorry! It is useless to try any more. Shall we go to the
other room and have tea?"
Constance did not persist, as she wished to do. She had to take the
Countess's word that further effort would be useless, but she felt
thwarted, as if the curtain had fallen by mistake in the middle of an
act, and the characters on the stage had availed themselves of the chance
to go home.
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