“Can you answer any question I ask you?” queried George, after thinking deeply.
“The Oracle knows all things, if it will but speak,” answered the Gipsy girl, leaving an avenue of escape if he should ask her something that she was unable to answer.
“They are near at hand. Would you see them?”
“No, no. Not to-night,” hastily interposed Captain Baker. “What I wish to know is where they are.”
“You would know if they have outwitted you in the race?”
“Yes, yes. But how do you know what I am thinking about?”
“The mouthpiece of the Oracle knows all things,” crooned the fortune teller. “No, they have not yet won the race. You shall see them on the morrow.”
“A short span of twelve miles hence there is a spring. The spring is known as Granite Spring.”
“Yes, yes? Will they be there?” he asked eagerly.
“No, not there,” replied the Gipsy. “But you will find them near at hand. Seek and you shall find, but go with humble spirit, else disaster may overtake you.”
“Thank you, I’ll do as you say. This is wonderful. I want my friends to have their fortunes told by you. You are the right kind. I wonder if you can tell me just what these girls are going to do to get ahead of us in the race.”
“I will consult the Oracle once more,” replied the fortune teller.
It was fully two minutes before Harriet raised her head. George stood eagerly awaiting her answer.
“The Oracle knows but will not say,” replied Harriet coldly. “The Oracle is ever fair and just. It will not reveal the plans of the maidens to their enemies. The Star of the East is weary. She cannot read the palms of your friends. Your way lies yonder. Your companions await you.”
Captain George, very red of face, a sheepish expression in his eyes, got up hastily and walked over to his companions who were sitting on the ground awaiting him.
“Come on, fellows. Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
“You seemed mighty interested in what that Gipsy girl had to say. Did she tell you anything remarkable?” asked Dill laughingly.
“Then you did better than the rest of us. That other young Gipsy woman didn’t tell me a single thing.”
“The old Gipsy woman gave it to me red hot!” exclaimed Sam. “She told me some things I’d just as soon not have heard. She said I was started on the road to thievery. Now what do you think of that?”