I. Victor Reads the Fateful Star
II. Victor Interrogates His Mother
III. Victor Makes a Test
IV. Victor Throws Down the Altar
V. Victor Receives a Warning
VI. Victor is Checked in His Flight
VII. The Return of the Spirit
VIII. Victor Repairs His Mother's Altar
IX. The Law's Delay
X. A Visit to Hazel Grove
XI. Love's Translation
XII. A Moonlight Call and a Vision
XIII. Victor Tests His Theory
XIV. The Ordeal
XV. The Ring
XVI. Conclusion
Books by HAMLIN GARLAND
Saturday had been a strenuous day for the baseball team of WinonaUniversity, and Victor Ollnee, its redoubtable catcher, slept late.Breakfast at the Beta Kappa Fraternity House on Sunday started withouthim, and Gilbert Frenson, who never played ball or tennis, and ArnoldMacey, who was too effeminate to swing a bat, divided the Sunday morningStar between them.
"See here, Gil," called Macey, holding up an illustrated page, "do yousuppose this woman is any relation to Vic?"
Frenson took the paper and glanced at it casually. It contained afull-page lurid article, printed in two colors, with the picture of atall, serpentine, heavy-eyed, yet beautiful woman, whose long arms(ending in claws) reached for the heart of a sleeping man. "What is itall about?" asked Frenson, as his eyes roamed over the text.
"It seems to be an attack on a medium named Ollnee who pretends to beable to bring the dead to life. According to this article, she's thelimit as a fraud. You don't suppose—Ollnee is an unusual name—"
"Oh, not so very. I suppose it's another way of spelling Olney. I don'tsee any reason to connect old Vic with any such woman as that."
"No, only he's always been kind of secretive about his folks. You'lladmit that. Why, we don't even know where he came from! Nobody does,unless you do."
Frensen dipped into the article. "Wow! this is a hot one! Lucile has acase for libel all right—unless the reporter happens to be telling thetruth."
"Hello, Vic!" he shouted, as a tall, broad-shouldered, but rather leanyoung fellow entered the room. "Vic, you are discovered!"
"What's the excitement?" asked the newcomer.
"Here's an article in the Sunday paper you should see. It