"Hark!" she commanded. "They are speaking now."
As he listened, the same measured whisper which he had heard upon entering the house made itself distinctly heard, apparently in the air, a little higher than his mother's head. "_Boy, trust in us!_"
Victor glanced at his mother's lips. He could not help it; base as it seemed, he suspected her of ventriloquism. "Who are you?" he asked.
This reply, apparently without his mother's agency, was uttered in so plain a tone that Victor's hair rose. He opened and peered into a little closet which stood behind his mother's chair. It was empty, and as he came slowly back and stood looking down into her face a low, breathy chuckle sounded in his ear.
A flush of rage passed over him, leaving him cold. He studied his mother in silence, convinced that she was cunningly playing upon his fears. As he pondered she said, quietly: "I'm glad you came, Victor. You fill my heart with joy; but you must not stay. I do not need you. You must go back to your studies."
"Oh, Victor, you must! I want you to graduate. Father insists on it."
"I tell you it is impossible. Do you suppose I'm going back there where all the fellows are laughing at me? Why, they're talking of throwing me out of the club! More than that, I can't take another cent of your money. If I had known how you were earning your living I would never have entered the university at all."
"Oh, my boy, do you doubt me? Do you believe what they say against me?"
This brought him face to face with the whole problem. "Of course I don't believe that you cheat--purposely--but I do think you are abnormal. You can't expect me to believe that a voice can come out of the air like that. It's impossible! It's against all reason, and yet--"
At this moment another knock, a gentler signal, sounded at the door, and the youth, relieved by the interruption, flared out at the unknown intruder. "Go away," he shouted.
"No, no; these are friends," his mother asserted, and rose to let them in.
Victor caught her by the arm. "What are you going to do?"
"Open the door. It is one of my dearest friends."
"You must not give a sitting. I won't have it."
The knock was repeated and she hurried away, leaving the boy confused, angry, and helpless.