Part 29 (1/2)

”'M U S Q U O D O B O I T.'”

Peters stared blankly. Not more blankly than the majority of the audience, however, including Kate herself. She turned toward Jack. He appeared as surprised as Peters. Indeed, if there was anything suspicious, it was that Jack appeared a trifle over-astonished.

As the burst of applause which followed the first surprise was succeeded by a wave of laughter, Kate turned back to discover Peters, very red in the face, drawing on the board a picture. As she looked a grotesquely ugly face took shape. The face completed, there was a renewed burst of merriment when Peters topped it with a fool's-cap, and on that sketched rough hieroglyphics.

”Now whose picture have I drawn?” he demanded loudly.

”Well, you tried to draw mine,” responded the professor, dropping into normal English, ”but as the dunce's tie is far up the back of his collar, I leave the audience to decide whose it is.”

At this there were shouts and shrieks of laughter, and Peters, hurriedly feeling, and finding his own tie far out of place, threw the chalk to the floor and dashed back to his seat amid a perfect bedlam of hilarity.

The uproar soon subsided, however, for not one in the crowded room but was now thoroughly wonderstruck at the demonstration. Some of the older people began to step forward, writing the most difficult names they could think of, meaningless words, groups of figures. A teacher chalked a proposition in algebra. Without error all were called out promptly.

The climax was reached when one of the church elders advanced to the board, and while writing, fixed his eyes on something in his half-opened hand.

Without hesitation the blindfolded unknown announced, ”Mr. Storey is writing the name of one of the Apostles, but is thinking of a penknife.”

The clapping which followed was scattered and brief. ”It's simply uncanny,” exclaimed one of Kate's neighbors. Kate, glancing back toward Jack, shook her head. Up there, in full view, she could not possibly see how he could have anything to do with it.

At this point the minister again stepped forward. ”Will you answer a few questions?” he scrawled.

”With pleasure, Mr. Borden.”

”How old am I?”

”Forty-nine next September.”

The minister ran his fingers through his hair, perplexedly.

”How old is Mrs. Borden?”

There was a slight pause, then in gallant tones came the answer, ”Twenty-two.”

Amid a renewal of laughter, and much clapping from the ladies, the minister was about to turn away, when on second thought he turned back, and wrote:

”Name the twelve Apostles.”

For the first time the learned seer displayed signs of uneasiness. After some stumbling, however, he completed the list.

With a twinkle in his eyes, the preacher inscribed a second question, ”Name Joshua's captains.”

Prof. Click cleared his throat, ran his fingers down his beard, moved uneasily in his chair, and at length, while a smile began to spread over the room, shook his head.

”But I am thinking of them--hard,” declared the minister, chuckling.

The professor was again about to shake his head, when suddenly he paused, then replied boldly, ”Shem, Ham, Hezekiah, Hitt.i.te, Peter, Goliath, Solomon and Pharaoh.”

It was during the shouts of merriment following this ridiculous response that Kate's mystification began to dissolve. Glancing again toward her brother, she saw that, despite a show of laughing, there was an uneasiness in his face similar to that shown by the professor. And when presently she saw him cast a covertly longing eye toward a pile of Bibles in the next window, she turned back to the platform, silently laughing.

She thought she had discovered the source of the ”thought waves.”