It was presumed that he was still praying.
The stillness was now absolute.
"We must wait in perfect silence," whispered Mr.Snoop from the extreme tips of his lips.
Everybody sat in strained intensity, silent, looking towards the vague outline of the sideboard.
The minutes passed.

No one moved.

All were spellbound in expectancy.
Still the minutes passed.

The taper had flickered down till the great room was almost in darkness.
Could it be that by some neglect in the preparations, the substitution perhaps of the wrong brandy, the astralization could not be effected?
But no.
Quite suddenly, it seemed, everybody in the darkened room was aware of a _presence_.

That was the word as afterwards repeated in a hundred confidential discussions.