At
the moment she spoke, the woman in hiding reached up and caught her
rival's voice, and clasping it tightly in her right hand, escaped
unseen, to her own cabin. At the same instant the afflicted woman missed
her voice, and felt a sharp pain shoot through her left arm, just below
the elbow. She at first suspected the old woman of having tricked her
through the medium of the red rose, but was subsequently informed by a
conjure doctor that her voice had been stolen, and that the old woman
was innocent. For the pain he gave her a bottle of medicine, of which
nine drops were to be applied three times a day, and rubbed in with the
first two fingers of the right hand, care being taken not to let any
other part of the hand touch the arm, as this would render the medicine
useless. By the aid of a mirror, in which he called up her image, the
conjure doctor ascertained who was the guilty person. He sought her out
and charged her with the crime which she promptly denied. Being pressed,
however, she admitted her guilt. The doctor insisted upon immediate
restitution. She expressed her willingness, and at the same time her
inability to comply--she had taken the voice, but did not possess the
power to restore it.
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