"I do not read Italian," confessed Victor; "but Leo--Miss Wood--does; perhaps she will help me."
"Very good. Now as to the mechanical side of this matter. I have a nephew who is an expert photographer and a clever electrician. With your permission, I will send for him and see what he can do. He is a man of high standing in his profession, and a quiet personality--one that will not irritate or alarm your mother. Shall I bring him in and give her over to all?"
"Certainly. I'm sure mother wants you to have full charge."
"Very well. We will set to work at once, for our case may come up this week. At its lowest terms, the Aiken charge involves--to us--the admission that our client is highly suggestible and that she has been used as an unconscious stool-pigeon by Pettus. For the present we must proceed upon this basis. Suggestion is more or less accepted at the present time, and we may be able to get the jury to admit our plea; but I will not conceal from you the fact that your mother stands in danger of severe punishment. The _Star_ has singled her out as a scapegoat, and is behind the Aikens. They will push her hard. I do not think they will follow her here, but if they do I shall send you to my nephew's home.--Now to Morselli. We must know just where he stands on this amazing branch of biology. Will you make this synopsis to-day?"
Victor's eyes glowed with the fire of his awakened pride and resolution. "If you'll let me help you, Mr. Bartol, I'll show you what my training has been. I'm quick in some things. I will collate and put in order all the latest deductions of science--" He stopped. "But what exactly do you intend to do with my mother?"
"I mean to confine her in such wise as to demonstrate precisely what she can do and what she cannot. I must divide what is conscious from that which is unconscious. I must understand precisely how she produces these messages, voices, and faces. We are agreed that she is not _consciously_ deceptive?" He questioned Victor with a glance.
"Very well, we must demonstrate her honesty. We must photograph her so-called materializations side by side with her own body, and we must register the work of these invisible hands, and in every possible way demonstrate that she is the medium and not the originating cause of these messages. In no other way can we save her from disgrace and a prison cell."