There was no intimation of reproof, no endeavor to evade the remark;
but Paul could not but observe the change in the man's manner as they
retraced their steps. Indeed, he was conscious of an overpowering
sadness himself, as he turned his back upon the strange scene.

"Come!" said Ah Ben, with authority, leading the way.

They passed up the grand stairway to the terrace, entering the room
at the same window by which they had left it, and Ah Ben closed the
sash and drew the curtains behind them.

A moment later Paul went to the window and looked out. There was an
old moon, and the forest beneath lay bathed in its mellow light. The
sudden transition to his former state was no less astounding than the
first.

"Which, think you, is the most real," asked the old man, "the scene
before us now, or the one we have left behind?"

Paul could not answer. He was revolving in his mind the marvels he
had just witnessed. He could not understand how hypnotism could have
created such a world as he had just beheld. It was not a whit less
tangible, visible, or audible than that in which he had always lived,
and he could not help looking upon Ah Ben as a creature far removed
from his own sphere of life. How had the man acquired such powers?
These and other thoughts were rushing through his mind. Presently his
host touched him lightly upon the shoulder, and said:

"Come, let us descend into the hall again, and finish our pipes."