
Such was the opinion of Margo Lane on this, her first trip to the garish preserves of Mahatma Xanadu.
Maybe the mystic could be excused for having his headquarters over an East Side tailor shop, because
even a genuine vision in a crystal ball couldn't answer the present housing shortage in Manhattan. But to
Margo, everything about the Mahatma spelled fake.
His fancy turban and rhinestone studded tunic looked like fugitives from a costume shop that had raced
here under the leg power of the baggy pantaloons that didn't match them. The gleaming smile from the
bearded mouth, like the roll of the Mahatma's eyes, reminded Margo of a side-show performer finishing
a ballyhoo.
When Xanadu gestured to the crystal ball and finished with a hitch of his droopy purple sash, Margo
almost broke the tension with a laugh. Then, like the customers who formed the sucker trade, she finished
with a gasp.
The Mahatma had just picked up a folded slip that a wan-faced gentleman had written. With a toss,
Xanadu flipped the wadded paper into a bowl that was filled with water, but which lacked gold-fish.
There was a sudden puff of flame and the slip was gone, leaving the spectators dazzled.
When Xanadu was resting one hand on the gentleman's shoulder, holding the crystal ball before him with
the other, asking the customer to concentrate upon the words that he had written on the vanished slip. In
purring tones, the Tibetan marvel was revealing the very question, while the stupefied client nodded.
"You are awaiting word from someone," pronounced the Mahatma. "Someone whose initials we can
both visualize in the crystal. The initials K. J. are very clear -"
"Very clear," the customer interrupted. "Yes, just as clear as when I wrote them."
"And the letter K," purred Xanadu, "signifies the name Kathleen. Ah, the crystal clears and I see the
other name. J for Jenkinson, which is your name, sir!"
"That's right. Kathleen was -"
"Is your niece," corrected Xanadu. "Not 'was' because they do not recognize the past in the spirit plane
where Kathleen now dwells. See! Her face is appearing in the crystal!"
Mr. Jenkinson blinked and nodded wonderingly. As he turned his face toward Xanadu, the latter bowed
and stepped away. The crystal ball was no longer handy when Jenkinson took another look for the image
of his departed niece. Having delivered an honest ten dollars worth, Xanadu was attending to another
customer.
Another flame puffed as a folded slip was tossed to mysterious oblivion. This time a Peke-faced dowager
was favored with information regarding her lamented dog Chan Chu who was drifting happily through
interstellar spaces somewhere in the vicinity of Procyon, according to Xanadu, who evidently had a dash
of humor. Margo tried to smile this off with the supposition that the dowager was merely getting a peek
of her own reflection from the crystal, but that wasn't a satisfactory answer.
Not considering the way that Mahatma Xanadu was piling up the evidence in favor of his occult powers.
In turn, the remaining customers were seeing their folded questions puff into flame, followed by accurate
readings from the crystal. They were viewing things in that mysterious ball and the subjects were
becoming important.
Advice on stocks, matters concerning contracts, which relatives to trust - all these and more were piping
through from spirit land under the helpful influence of the Mahatma. One shocker came when an elderly