| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The White Moll by Frank L. Packard: she was becoming acquainted with the personnel of the gang - in an
impersonal way, mostly. Apart from Danglar, there was Shluker, who
must of necessity be one of them; and Skeeny, the man who had been
with Danglar in Shluker's room; and the Cricket, whom she had never
seen; and besides these, there were those who were mentioned in the
cipher message to-night, and detailed to the performance of the
various acts and scenes that were to lead up to the final climax
- which, she supposed, was the object and reason for the cipher
message, in order that even those not actually employed might be
thoroughly conversant with the entire plan, and ready to act
intelligently if called upon. For there were others, of course, as
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain: mile up in the air, and that that string of crawlers is
two or three miles away? Spiders, good land! Spiders
as big as a cow? Perhaps you'd like to go down
and milk one of 'em. But they're camels, just the
same. It's a caravan, that's what it is, and it's a mile
long."
"Well, then, let's go down and look at it. I
don't believe in it, and ain't going to till I see it and
know it."
"All right," he says, and give the command:
"Lower away."
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: There was something remarkable about a gun-fighter's hand. It
never seemed to be gloved, never to be injured, never out of
sight or in an awkward position.
There were grizzled outlaws in that group, some of whom had
many notches on their gun-handles, and they, with their
comrades, accorded Duane silence that carried conviction of the
regard in which he was held.
Duane could not recall any other instance where he had let fall
a familiar speech to these men, and certainly he had never
before hinted of his possibilities. He saw instantly that he
could not have done better.
The Lone Star Ranger |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: "Where?" said Daphne.
"Here," I flung over my shoulder.
A four-wheeled truck of luggage, propelled by a porter across my
bows, blocked my way for a moment, and Daphne overtook me.
"So it is," she said. "But how did you know?"
CHAPTER XII
THE ORDER OF THE BATH
Berry blotted the letter with maddening precision. Then he
picked it up tenderly and handed it to me.
"How will that do?"
"Read it aloud," said Daphne.
The Brother of Daphne |
