The Clairvoyant

A fake music-hall clairvoyant meets a woman, and suddenly his predictions seem to come true ... Maximus, a small-time music hall mind reader, has frightening flashes of precognition; but he cannot predict or control them--until he realizes that he has them in the presence of Christine, a publisher's attractive daughter who makes his equally-lovely wife Rene wretchedly jealous. But worse trouble comes to Maximus when he's accused of causing a disaster he predicted. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> Maximus is a low-budget trickster who puts on a fake clairvoyant act with his young wife Rene. Act turns to reality when, in the presence of another young lady, Christine, he starts to make startlingly correct predictions. His name becomes famous and he gets richer as he correctly predicts a train wreck and the Derby winner. Being around Christine so much causes jealousy to flare in his wife. He only manages to hold on to Rene by promising to stop using his clairvoyance. But then he abruptly predicts a horrific mining accident with 200 deaths. He attempts to warn the miners himself but they reluctantly return to work. When the accident does occur, Maximus finds himself on trial as its cause. —Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>