And each in turn stood patient, while the slide was drawn back, and a voice from within demanded the signal that granted admittance.
This mysterious gathering of forces had continued for nearly an hour when a cab drew up sharply at the corner where Hellier Crescent abuts upon St.George's Terrace, and a lady descended from it.

As she handed his fare to the cabman, her face and figure were plainly visible in the light of the street-lamps.

The former was pale in coloring, delicately oval in shape, and illumined by a pair of large and unusually brilliant eyes; the latter was tall, graceful, and clad in black.
Having dismissed her cab, the new-comer crossed St.George's Terrace with an appearance of haste, and entering Hellier Crescent, immediately mounted the steps of No.

8.
The last member of this strange procession had disappeared into the house as she reached the door; but, acting with apparent familiarity, she lifted the knocker and let it fall once.
For a moment there was no response; then, as in the case of the former visitors, the slide was drawn back and a beam of light came through the grating, to be immediately obscured by the shadowy suggestion of a face with two inquiring eyes.
"The Word ?" demanded a solemn voice.
The new-comer lifted her head.
"He shall be Power made absolute!" she responded in a low and slightly tremulous voice; and a moment later the door opened, and she stepped into the hall.
The scene inside the house was curious in the extreme.

If there were quiet and darkness outside, a brilliant light and a tense, contagious excitement reigned within.