Jamieson,
at the sound, wheeled his head swiftly to look.
There, in the cabinet, somewhere overhead behind the curtain, a faint
but perfectly distinct radiance was visible. It was no more than a
diffused glimmer, but it was unmistakable, and it shone out faintly
and clearly upon the medium's face. By its light Laurie could make out
every line and every feature, the drooping clipped moustache, the
strong jutting nose, the lines from nostril to mouth, and the closed
eyes. As he watched the light deepened in intensity, seeming to
concentrate itself in the hidden corner at the top. Then, with a
smooth, steady motion it emerged into full sight, in appearance like a
softly luminous globe of a pale bluish color, undefined at the edges,
floating steadily forward with a motion like that of an air balloon,
out into the room. Once outside the cabinet it seemed to hesitate,
hanging at about the height of a man's head--then, after an instant,
it retired once more, re-entered the cabinet, disappeared in the
direction from which it had come, and once more died out.
Well, there it had been; there was no doubt about it.... And Laurie
was unacquainted with any mechanism that could produce it.
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