CHAPTER V--THE SITUATION LOOKS SERIOUS
Laura Belding was as quick to think as she was to act. She remainedperfectly calm after the woman's question--calm outwardly, at least. Nowshe spoke:
"You have spoken a very true thing now. If I had seen such a girl Ishould not tell you. And this has nothing to do with my own fortune. Ihave paid you to tell me something about my future--which you seem toknow so well."
This spurring phrase put the woman on her mettle. She flushed slowlyunder her dark skin.
"You are a heretic--you do not believe," she said.
"I must be shown before I believe," returned Laura, confidently.
"Then what comes to you in the future will only prove the case," laughedthe Gypsy queen. "You do not believe in palmistry," and she tossed thehand from her lightly.
"Neither do you," said Laura, bluntly. "You did not hold my hand then toenable you to read my palm, but for another purpose."
"You are a shrewd lady," said the Gypsy. "I read character in other waysthan by palmistry--it is true."
She looked at Laura for some seconds very earnestly. Of course, MotherWit did not believe this Gypsy had any occult power; but her deep blackeyes were wonderfully compelling, and it might be that there wassomething in "mind reading."
"You have an intention now that, if followed to its conclusion, willbring you trouble, young lady. Just what that intention may be, or whattrouble it may bring, I cannot say exactly," declared the woman, slowlyand impressively. "But it deals with a person you have never seen butonce--I believe, recently. It seems that you may think you are helpingher----"
"That is not prophesying," said Laura, quickly, and interrupting theGypsy queen. "I shall scarcely think your information worth what I havepaid you if you do not do better than that."
"What do you mean?" demanded the woman, hastily, and with a flush cominginto her cheek again.
"You know very well that you are warning me not to assist the girl whohas run away from this camp," Mother Wit said, boldly.
"Ha! Then you _did_ see her?" cried the Gypsy.
"You know I did. You played a trick on me to find out. You are nottelling my fortune, but you are endeavoring to find out, through me,about the girl who has run away. And I tell you right now, you will notlearn anything further from me--or from the other girls."
The Gypsy queen gazed at her with lowering brows; but Laura Beldingneither "shivered nor shook."
"You are quite courageous--for a girl," observed the woman, at last.
"I may be, or not. But I am intelligent enough to know when I am beingfooled. Unless you have something of importance to tell me I shallconclude that this fortune-telling seance is ended," and Laura rose fromher seat.
"Wait," said the woman, in a low voice. "I will tell you one thing. Youmay not consider it worth your attention now, little lady; but it willprove so in the end. _Do not cross the Romany folk--it is bad luck!_"
"And I do not believe in 'luck,'" rejoined Laura, smiling. She wasdetermined not to let the woman see that she was at all frightened.Surely these people would not dare detain, or injure, seven girls.
"An unbeliever!" muttered the Gypsy woman. "We can tell nothing to anunbeliever."
"And having got _from_ her all you are likely to get," said Laura,coolly, "your prophecies are ended, are they?"
Queen Grace waved her hand toward the tent flap. "Send in one of yourcompanions," she said. "Any one of them. I am angry with you, and whenpassion controls me I can see nothing, little lady."
But Laura Belding went forth, fully determined that none of her friendsshould waste their money upon the chance that the Gypsy queen might seeinto the future for them.
"It's wicked, anyway," decided Mother Wit. "If God thought it best forus to know what the future had in store for us, he would have put itwithin the power of every person to know what was coming. Professionalpalmists, and fortune-tellers of all sorts, are merely wicked personswho wish to get foolish people's money!"
She found the six other girls grouped in the middle of the camp, tryingto understand one of the women, who was talking to them, and evidentlynot a little frightened.
"Oh, Laura! How did it go?" demanded Jess, running to her.
"Very bad. She is a fraud," whispered Mother Wit. "And look out! theythink we have seen the girl who ran away and they will try to pump usabout her."
"That's what I thought," declared Jess.
"Know all about your past and future, Laura?" asked Bobby Hargrew.
"Dear me! it makes me shiver to think of it," said Nellie. "Does shestir a cauldron, and call on the spirits of the earth and air?"
"She calls on nothing but her own shrewd sense," replied Laura, shortly."And she can tell you really nothing. Take my advice, girls, and don'ttry it."
"Oh!" cried the disappointed Bobby "I did so hope she could tellme--more."
"Don't you believe a thing she told you about trouble coming to you atschool," said Eve, quietly.
"You needn't worry about that, Bobs," drawled Dora Lockwood. "You knowyou are always getting into trouble with Gee Gee."
"Maybe she could tell me how to circumvent her," sighed Bobby.
"You'll never get the best of Miss Grace Carrington," said Jess,decidedly; "so give up all hope of _that_."
"Let the little lady try it--do," whined one of the women. "She canlearn much, perhaps. Because one fails, that is no reason why anothershould not succeed."
"I'd like to try it," said Bobby, earnestly.
Laura whispered: "What they want to find out is if we saw the girl whohas run away from them, and if we know where she is. Be careful."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Laura replied. "She caught me with her questions. She knowsI saw the girl. I told her nothing else."
The queen came to the opening of the tent and beckoned to Bobby. Sheseemed to know instinctively which girl was anxious to try her arts.
"Oh, Bobby," whispered Dorothy. "Maybe you'd better not--as Laura says."
"I want to see for myself," said the other girl, doggedly.
And she moved toward the Gypsy's tent. Laura gathered the other girlsabout her. One of the women was so near that she could overhear anythingsaid louder than a whisper.
"I want to get away from here at once," said Laura, quietly. "Let us buyany little things they may have for sale, and go on our way. We can getaway better now when there are only two men in the camp than we can whenthose other three--and the bloodhound--get back."
"Oh, mercy me!" gasped Jess. "I had forgotten about the bloodhound."
"Hush!" murmured Laura. "Don't let that woman hear you."
But it was evident that the Gypsy woman had heard. She uttered asentence or two in Romany and the two men whom the girls had seen beforeat the camp appeared. They did not come near, but sat by the roadsidethat passed through the hollow, and filled their pipes and smoked. Itwas quite evident that they were on guard.
"We are prisoners!" whispered Nellie, seizing Eve's arm.
"Sh!" admonished Laura again. "Don't let them see that you're afraid.That will only make them the bolder."
But all of the six girls outside the Gypsy's tent were more than alittle disturbed. The situation did seem serious.