Beasts and Super-Beasts | Page 2

of a searching question.
"Have you such a thing as a she-wolf in your collection of wild animals?
A she-wolf of moderately good temper?"
Lord Pabham considered. "There is Loiusa," he said, "a rather fine
specimen of the timber-wolf. I got her two years ago in exchange for
some Arctic foxes. Most of my animals get to be fairly tame before
they've been with me very long; I think I can say Louisa has an angelic
temper, as she-wolves go. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering whether you would lend her to me for to-morrow
night," said Clovis, with the careless solicitude of one who borrows a
collar stud or a tennis racquet.
"To-morrow night?"
"Yes, wolves are nocturnal animals, so the late hours won't hurt her,"
said Clovis, with the air of one who has taken everything into
consideration; "one of your men could bring her over from Pabham
Park after dusk, and with a little help he ought to be able to smuggle
her into the conservatory at the same moment that Mary Hampton
makes an unobtrusive exit."
Lord Pabham stared at Clovis for a moment in pardonable
bewilderment; then his face broke into a wrinkled network of laughter.
"Oh, that's your game, is it? You are going to do a little Siberian Magic
on your own account. And is Mrs. Hampton willing to be a fellow-
conspirator?"
"Mary is pledged to see me through with it, if you will guarantee
Louisa's temper."
"I'll answer for Louisa," said Lord Pabham.

By the following day the house-party had swollen to larger proportions,
and Bilsiter's instinct for self-advertisement expanded duly under the
stimulant of an increased audience. At dinner that evening he held forth
at length on the subject of unseen forces and untested powers, and his
flow of impressive eloquence continued unabated while coffee was
being served in the drawing-room preparatory to a general migration to
the card- room.
His aunt ensured a respectful hearing for his utterances, but her
sensation-loving soul hankered after something more dramatic than
mere vocal demonstration.
"Won't you do something to convince them of your powers, Leonard?"
she pleaded; "change something into another shape. He can, you know,
if he only chooses to," she informed the company.
"Oh, do," said Mavis Pellington earnestly, and her request was echoed
by nearly everyone present. Even those who were not open to
conviction were perfectly willing to be entertained by an exhibition of
amateur conjuring.
Leonard felt that something tangible was expected of him.
"Has anyone present," he asked, "got a three-penny bit or some small
object of no particular value--?"
"You're surely not going to make coins disappear, or something
primitive of that sort?" said Clovis contemptuously.
"I think it very unkind of you not to carry out my suggestion of turning
me into a wolf," said Mary Hampton, as she crossed over to the
conservatory to give her macaws their usual tribute from the dessert
dishes.
"I have already warned you of the danger of treating these powers in a
mocking spirit," said Leonard solemnly.
"I don't believe you can do it," laughed Mary provocatively from the

conservatory; "I dare you to do it if you can. I defy you to turn me into
a wolf."
As she said this she was lost to view behind a clump of azaleas.
"Mrs. Hampton--" began Leonard with increased solemnity, but he got
no further. A breath of chill air seemed to rush across the room, and at
the same time the macaws broke forth into ear-splitting screams.
"What on earth is the matter with those confounded birds, Mary?"
exclaimed Colonel Hampton; at the same moment an even more
piercing scream from Mavis Pellington stampeded the entire company
from their seats. In various attitudes of helpless horror or instinctive
defence they confronted the evil-looking grey beast that was peering at
them from amid a setting of fern and azalea.
Mrs. Hoops was the first to recover from the general chaos of fright and
bewilderment.
"Leonard!" she screamed shrilly to her nephew, "turn it back into Mrs.
Hampton at once! It may fly at us at any moment. Turn it back!"
"I--I don't know how to," faltered Leonard, who looked more scared
and horrified than anyone.
"What!" shouted Colonel Hampton, "you've taken the abominable
liberty of turning my wife into a wolf, and now you stand there calmly
and say you can't turn her back again!"
To do strict justice to Leonard, calmness was not a distinguishing
feature of his attitude at the moment.
"I assure you I didn't turn Mrs. Hampton into a wolf; nothing was
farther from my intentions," he protested.
"Then where is she, and how came that animal into the conservatory?"
demanded the Colonel.
"Of course we must accept your assurance that you didn't turn Mrs.

Hampton