"How do you mean?"

"Black magic generally. Ill wishing. Wax figures. Spells at the turn of the moon. Killing off your neighbour's cattle. Killing off your neighbour himself."

"You don't really believe there was such a thing as black magic?" asked Lynn incredulously.

"Perhaps not. But at any rate people did try hard. Nowadays, well -" He shrugged his shoulders. "With all the ill will in the world you and your family can't do much about Rosaleen and myself, can you?"

Lynn's head went back with a jerk. Suddenly she was enjoying herself.

"It's a little late in the day for that," she said politely.

David Hunter laughed. He, too, sounded as though he were enjoying himself.

"Meaning we've got away with the booty? Yes, we're sitting pretty all right."

"And you get a kick out of it!"

"Out of having a lot of money? I'll say we do."

"I didn't mean only the money. I meant out of us."

"Out of having scored off you? Well, perhaps. You'd all have been pretty smug and complacent about the old boy's cash. Looked upon it as practically in your pockets already."

Lynn said:

"You must remember that we'd been taught to think so for years. Taught not to save, not to think of the future - encouraged to go ahead with all sorts of schemes and projects."

(Rowley, she thought, Rowley and the farm.)

"Only one thing, in fact, that you hadn't learnt," said David pleasantly.

"What's that?"

"That nothing's safe."

"Lynn," cried Aunt Katherine, leaning forward from the head of the table, "one of Mrs Lester's controls is a fourth dynasty priest. He's told us such wonderful things. You and I, Lynn, must have a long talk. Egypt, I feel, must have affected you physically."

Dr Cloade said sharply:

"Lynn's had better things to do than play about with all this superstitious tomfoolery."

"You are so biased, Lionel," said his wife.

Lynn smiled at her aunt - then sat silent with the refrain of the words David had spoken swimming in her brain.

"Nothing's safe..."

There were people who lived in such a world - people to whom everything was dangerous. David Hunter was such a person... It was not the world that Lynn had been brought up in - but it was a world that held attractions for her nevertheless.

David said presently in the same low amused voice:

"Are we still on speaking terms?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good. And do you still grudge Rosaleen and myself our ill-gotten access to wealth?"

"Yes," said Lynn with spirit.

"Splendid. What are you going to do about it?"

"Buy some wax and practise black magic!"

He laughed.

"Oh, no, you won't do that. You aren't one of those who rely on old out- moded methods. Your methods will be modern and probably very efficient. But you won't win."

"What makes you think there is going to be a fight? Haven't we all accepted the inevitable?"

"You all behave beautifully. It is very amusing."