Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Land Of Mis

chance for a convert! They set a bait and poor old gudgeon Malone came along and swallowed it. Here he is with the hook still stuck in his silly mouth. Oh yes Malone plain speaking is needed and you shall have it. The Professors black mane was bristling and his eyes glaring from one member of the company to another.
  Well we want every view expressed said Atkinson.
  You seem very qualified sir to express the negative one. At the same time I would repeat in my own person the words of Thackeray. He said to some objector What you say is natural but if you had seen what I have seen you might alter your opinion. Perhaps sometime you will be able to look into the matter for your high position in the scientific world would give your opinion great weight.
  If I have a high place in the scientific world as you say it is because I have concentrated upon what is useful and discarded what is nebulous or absurd. My brain sir does not pare the edges. It cuts right through. It has cut right through this and has found fraud and folly.
  Both are there at times said Atkinson and yet . . . and yet! Ah well Malone Im some way from home and it is late. You will excuse me Professor. I am honoured to have met you.
  Malone was leaving also and the two friends had a few minutes chat before they went their separate ways Atkinson to Wimpole Street and Malone to South Norwood where he was now living.
  Grand old fellow! said Malone chuckling. You must never get offended with him. He means no harm. He is splendid.
  Of course he is. But if anything could make me a real outandout Spiritualist it is that sort of intolerance. It is very common though it is generally cast rather in the tone of the quiet sneer than of the noisy roar. I like the latter best. By the way Malone if you care to go deeper into this subject I may be able to help you. Youve heard of Linden?
  Linden the professional medium. Yes Ive been told he is the greatest blackguard unhung.
  Ah well they usually talk of them like that. You must judge for yourself. He put his kneecap out last winter and I put it in again and that has made a friendly bond between us. Its not always easy to get him and of course a small fee a guinea I think is usual but if you wanted a sitting I could work it.
  You think him genuine?
  Atkinson shrugged his shoulders.
  I daresay they all take the line of least resistance. I can only say that I have never detected him in fraud. You must judge for yourself.
  I will said Malone. I am getting hot on this trail. And there is copy in it too. When things are more easy Ill write to you Atkinson and we can go more deeply into the matter.
4 Which Describes Some Strange Doings in Hammersmith
  THE article by the Joint Commissioners such was their glorious title aroused interest and contention. It had been accompanied by a depreciating leaderette from the subeditor which was meant to calm the susceptibilities of his orthodox readers as who should say These things have to be noticed and seem to be true but of course you and I recognize how pestilential it all is. Malone found himself at once plunged into a huge correspondence for and against which in itself was enough to show how vitally the question was in the minds of men. All the previous articles had only elicited a growl here or there from a hidebound Catholic or from an ironclad Evangelical but now his postbag was full. Most of them were ridiculing the idea that psychic forces existed and many were from writers who whatever they might know of psychic forces had obviously not yet learned to spell. The Spiritualists were in many cases not more pleased than the others for Malone had even while his account was true exercised a journalists privilege of laying an accent on the more humorous sides of it.
  One morning in the succeeding week Mr. Malone was aware of a large presence in the small room wherein he did his work at the office. A pageboy who preceded the stout visitor had laid a card on the corner of the table which bore the legend James Bolsover Provision Merchant High Street Hammersmith. It was none other than the genial president of last Sundays congregation. He wagged a paper accusingly at Malone but his goodhumoured face was wreathed in smiles.
  Well well said he. I told you that the funny side would get you.
  Dont you think it a fair account?
   Well yes Mr. Malone I think you and the young woman have done your best for us. But of course you know nothing and it all seems queer to you. Come to think of it it would be a deal queerer if all the clever men who leave this earth could not among them find some way of getting a word back to us.
  But its such a stupid word sometimes.
  Well there are a lot of stupid people leave the world. They dont change. And then you know one never knows what sort of message is needed. We had a clergyman in to see Mrs. Debbs yesterday. He was brokenhearted because he had lost his daughter. Mrs. Debbs got several messages through that she was happy and that only his grief hurt her. Thats no use said he. Anyone could say that. Thats not my girl. And then suddenly she said But I wish to goodness you would not wear a Roman collar with a coloured shirt. That sounded a trivial message but the man began to cry. Thats her he sobbed. She was always chipping me about my collars. Its the little things that count in this life just the homely intimate things Mr. Malone.
  Malone shook his head.
  Anyone would remark on a coloured shirt and a clerical collar.
  Mr. Bolsover laughed. Youre a hard proposition. So was I once so I cant blame you. But I called here with a purpose. I expect you are a busy man and I know that I am so Ill get down to the brass tacks. First I wanted to say that all our people that have any sense are pleased with the article. Mr. Algernon Mailey wrote me that it would do good and if he is pleased we are all pleased.
  Mailey the barrister?
  Mailey the religious reformer. Thats how he will be known.
  Well what else?
  Only that we would help you if you and the young lady wanted to go further in the matter. Not for publicity mind you but just for your own good though we dont shrink from publicity either. I have psychical phenomena seances at my own home without a professional medium and if you would like . . . 
  Theres nothing I would like so much.
  Then you shall come both of you. I dont have many outsiders. I wouldnt have one of those psychic research people inside my doors. Why should I go out of my way to be insulted by all their suspicions and their traps? They seem to think that folk have no feelings. But you have some ordinary common sense. Thats all we ask.
  But I dont believe. Would that not stand in the way?
  Not in the least. So long as you are fairminded and dont disturb the conditions all is well. Spirits out of the body dont like disagreeable people any more than spirits in the body do. Be gentle and civil same as you would to any other company.
  Well I can promise that.
  They are funny sometimes said Mr. Bolsover in reminiscent vein. It is as well to keep on the right side of them. They are not allowed to hurt humans but we all do things were not allowed to do and they are very human themselves. You remember how The Times correspondent got his head cut open with the tambourine in one of the Davenport Brothers seances. Very wrong of course but it happened. No friend ever got his head cut open. There was another case down Stepney way. A money lender went to a seance. Some victim that he had driven to suicide got into the medium. He got the moneylender by the throat and it was a close thing for his life. But Im off Mr. Malone. We sit once a week and have done for four years without a break. Eight oclock Thursdays. Give us a days notice and Ill get Mr. Mailey to meet you. He can answer questions better than I. Next Thursday! Very good. And Mr. Bolsover lurched out of the room.
  Both Malone and Enid Challenger had