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Maeterlinck, Maurice, 1862-1949

"The Unknown Guest"

In order not to overload these pages with details
which would only be a repetition of one another, I will at once
say that none of the antitelepathic tests succeeded that day. It
was the end of the lesson and late in the afternoon; the horses
were tired and irritable; and, whether Krall was there or not,
whether the problem was elementary or difficult, they gave only
absurd replies, wilfully "putting their foot in it," as one might
say with very good reason. But, next morning, on resuming their
task, when I proceeded as described above, Mohammed and Zarif,
doubtless in a better temper and already more accustomed to their
new examiner, gave in rapid succession correct answers to nearly
every problem set them. I am bound in fairness to say that there
was no appreciable difference between these results and those
which are obtained in the presence of Krall or other onlookers
who, consciously or unconsciously, are already aware of the
answer required.
I next thought of another and much simpler test, but one which,
by virtue of its very simplicity, could not be exposed to any
elaborate and farfetched suspicions. I saw on one of the shelves
in the stable a panel of cards, about the size of an octavo
volume, each bearing an arabic numeral on one of its sides. I
once more asked my good friend Krall, whose courtesy is
inexhaustible, to leave me alone with his pupil.


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