human
Sir Lewis, he said,
gpt
I trust you'll keep this conversation confidential.
human
Naturally,
gpt
I can't give you the full details, Malone went on,
human
FBI? Sir Lewis said.
gpt
Specialized investigation? He seemed pleased, but a trifle puzzled.
human
Dear boy, anything we have is at your disposal, of course. But I quite fail to see how you can consider us--
gpt
It's rather an unusual problem, Malone said, feeling that that was the understatement of the year.
human
But I understand that your records go back nearly a century.
gpt
Quite true,
human
During that time, Malone said,
gpt
Many of them, Sir Lewis said,
human
That's what I'd assume, Malone said. He fished in his pockets, found a cigarette and lit it. Sir Lewis went on chewing at his unlit pipe.
gpt
What we're interested in, Malone said,
human
Ah, Sir Lewis said.
gpt
The tricks of the trade, so to speak?
human
Exactly,
gpt
Well, then, Sir Lewis said.
human
The luminous gauze, for instance, that passes for ectoplasm; the various methods of table-lifting; control of the ouija board--things like that?
gpt
Not quite that elementary, Malone said. He puffed on the cigarette, wishing it was a cigar.
human
We're pretty much up to that kind of thing. But had it ever occurred to you that many of the methods used by phony mind-reading acts, for instance, might be used as communication methods by spies?
gpt
Why, I believe some have been, Sir Lewis said.
human
Though I don't know much about that, of course; there was a case during the First World War--
gpt
Exactly, Malone said. He took a deep breath.
human
It's things like that we're interested in, he said, and spent the next twenty minutes slowly approaching his subject. Sir Lewis, apparently fascinated, was perfectly willing to unbend in any direction, and jotted down notes on some of Malone's more interesting cases, murmuring:
gpt
Most unusual, most unusual,