some advice to one the Vandabilts. But I got his private secatary on the wire an' he's gone out to chase him up. We'll haf to wait an' see."
Bean was sorry to be causing this trouble.
"Perhaps I better come another night."
"No, you don't! You set right there!" She seemed to listen to unspoken words, looking far off. "There! My control says he's comin'; he's on the way."
Bean was aghast before this power.
"'Nother thing," pursued the Countess in her normal manner, "keep perfec'ly still when he comes. Don't tip him off what you want. Let him do the talkin'. If he's the real thing he'll know what you want. They say he's a wonder, but what do we know about it? Let him prove it!"
Bean felt that he and the Countess were a pair of shrewd skeptics.
The third bell rang and a heavy tread was heard on the stairs. The mere sound of its mounting was impressive. The Countess laid a reminding finger on her lips, as she moved toward the door.
There appeared an elderly man, in a black frock-coat, loose-fitting and not too garishly new, a student's coat rather than a fop's.
"Is this Perfesser Balthasar?" inquired the Countess in her best manner.
"At your service, Madam!" He permitted himself a courtly inclination, conferred upon the Countess a glistening tall hat, and then covered his expansive baldness with a skullcap of silk which he drew from an inner pocket.
