You have acquired the faculty of
sorcery--you will be initiated by stages, into the knowledge and
practice of it. These stages, seven in number, will cover the period
of your compact, _i.e._ twenty-one months, and at the end of every
three months--when a fresh stage is reached--you will receive fresh
powers. "In the first stage, the stage you are now entering upon, you will
receive the power of divination. You will be told how to detect the
presence of water and all kinds of metals, and how to read people's
thoughts. "In the second stage--exactly three months from to-day--you will
receive the gift of second-sight; the power of separating your
immaterial from your material body and projecting it, anywhere you
will, on the physical plane; and, to a large extent, you will be
enabled to circumvent gravity. Thus you will be able to perform all
manner of jugglery tricks--tricks that will set the whole world
gaping. Profit by them. "In the third stage you will possess the secrets of invisibility; of
walking on the water; of breathing under the water; of taming wild
beasts; and of understanding their language. "In the fourth stage you will understand how to inflict all manner of
diseases, and work all sorts of spells; such, for instance, as
bewitching milk, causing people to have fits, bad dreams, etc. You
will also know how to create plagues--plagues of insects, or of any
other noxious thing. "In the fifth stage you will possess absolute knowledge of the art of
medicine and be able to cure every ailment. "In the sixth stage you will acquire the power of producing vampires
and werwolves from the human being, and of transforming people from
the human to any animal guise. "In the seventh and final stage you will be given the complete mastery
of every art and science--including astrology, astronomy, necromancy,
etc. ; and for this stage is reserved the greatest power of
all--namely, the complete dominion over woman's will and affections. The powers of creating life, and of extending life beyond the now
natural limit, and of avoiding accidents, will never be conferred on
you. Neither shall you learn, not at least during your physical
existence--who or what we are, or the secrets of creation. "Each successive stage will cancel the preceding one--that is to say,
the powers you have acquired in the first stage will be annulled on
your arriving at the second stage, and so on. But if you carry out
your compact faithfully--that is to say, if at the end of the
twenty-one months you are still united--all the powers you have held
hitherto, in the different stages, temporarily, will return to you and
remain in your possession permanently. Have you anything to say?" "Yes!" Hamar answered; "I fully understand all you have explained to
us and I like the idea of it immensely. The fear of our coming to any
serious loggerheads and of dissolving partnership doesn't worry me
much--but I must say, it seems very remote--the prospect of gaining
such tremendous powers--powers that will give us practically
everything we want--save youth--"

"Youth you will never regain," lisped the voice. "And elixirs of life,
surely you must know, are no longer sought after, by beings of the
planet Earth. They are quite out of date. You will, of course, learn
the most efficacious means of making yourselves and other people
youthful in appearance." "Yes, but how shall we learn these secrets?" Kelson nerved himself to
ask. "They will be revealed to you in various ways--sometimes when asleep. You will receive preliminary instructions as to divination before this
time to-morrow." "And meanwhile, we shall be in want of money," Curtis remarked. "No!" the voice replied, "you will not be in want of money. Have you
anything more to ask?" No one spoke, and the silence that followed was interrupted by a loud
rustling of the wind. The darkness then lifted; but nothing was to be
seen--nothing save the trees and bushes, moon and stars. FOOTNOTES:

  [Footnote 16: This is a very sinister sign in astrology, denoting
  the presence of evil influences of all kinds.--(_Author's note._)]

  [Footnote 17: According to Atlantean ideas these spirits were:--Vice
  Elementals; Morbas (or Disease Elementals); Clanogrians (or
  malicious family ghosts, such as Banshees, etc. ); Vampires;
  Barrowvians, _i.e._ a grotesque kind of phantasm that frequents
  places where prehistoric man or beast has been interred; Planetians,
  _i.e._ spirits inimical to dwellers on this earth that inhabit
  various of the other planets; and earthbound spirits of such dead
  human beings as were mad, imbecile, cruel and vicious, together with
  the phantasms of vicious and mad beasts, and beasts of
  prey.--(_Author's note_.)] [Footnote 18: They are a literal translation of the Atlantean by
  Thos. Maitland, and are very nearly identified with forms of spirit
  invocation used in Egypt, India, Persia, Arabia, and among the Red
  Indians of North and South America.--(_Author's note_.)] CHAPTER VI

THE FIRST POWER


After their rencontre with the Unknown, Hamar and his companions did
not get back to their respective quarters till the sun was high in the
heavens, and the streets of the city were beginning to vibrate with
the rattle and clatter of traffic. "It's all very well--this wonderful compact of ours," Curtis grumbled,
"but I'm deuced hungry, and Matt and I haven't a cent between us. As
we went all that way last night to oblige you, Leon, I think it is
only fair you should stand us treat. I'll bet you have some nickels
stowed away, somewhere, in those pockets of yours--it wouldn't be you
if you hadn't! What do you say, Matt?" "I think as you do," Kelson replied. "We've stood by Leon, he should
stand by us. How much have you, Leon?" "How much have you?" Curtis echoed, "come, out with it--no jew-jewing
pals for me." "I might manage a dollar," Hamar said ruefully, as the prospect of a
good meal all to himself, at his favourite restaurant, faded away. "Where shall we go?" Just then, Kelson, happening to look behind him, saw a young woman of
prepossessing appearance ascending the steps of a dive in Clay Street. He was instantly attracted, as he always was attracted by a pretty
woman, and something--a kind of intuition he had never had
before--told him that she was a waitress; that she was discontented
with her present situation; that she was engaged to be married to a
pen driver at Hastings & Hastings in Sacramento Street; and that she
had a mother, of over seventy, whom she kept. All this came to Kelson
like a flash of lightning. Yielding to an impulse which he did not stay to analyse, he gripped
Hamar and Curtis, each too astonished even to remonstrate, by the arm,
and, dragging them along with him, followed the girl. The dive had only just been opened, and was being dusted and swept by
two slatternly women with dago complexions, and voices like hyenas. It
still reeked of stale drink and tobacco. "What's the good of coming to a place like this?"