Miss Deronnais, I
must give you another warning."
She bowed. She did not wish to use more words than were necessary.
The strain was frightful.
"It is this: whatever you may see--little tricks of speech or
movement--you must not for one instant yield to the thought that the
creature that is obsessing him is what he thinks it is. Remember the
thing is wholly evil, wholly evil; but it may, perhaps, do its utmost
to hide that, and to keep up the illusion. It is intelligent, but not
brilliant; it has the intelligence only of some venomous brute in the
slime. Or it may try to frighten you. You must not be frightened."
She understood hints here and there of what the old man said--enough,
at any rate, to act.
"And you must keep up to the utmost pitch your sympathy with _him_
himself. You must remember that he is somewhere there, underneath, in
chains; and that, probably, he is struggling too, and needs you. It is
not Possession yet: he is still partly conscious.... Did he know you?"
"Yes; he just knew me. He was puzzled, I think."
"Has he seen anyone else he knows?"
"His mother ... yes. He just knew her too. He did not speak to her. I
would not let him."
"Miss Deronnais, you have acted admirably.
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