Part 29 (1/2)

”I dunno as I care much about it,” answered Tim, bluntly.

The woman smiled a little. ”No?” she said. ”Let's see your hand.”

Tim extended a grimy fist across the table, the lines of which were so obscured with the soil of Coombs's landing that it might have puzzled more than a wizard to read them. But the woman, her keen eyes twinkling, remarked quickly, ”That's a fisherman's hand. You're the best fisherman on the pond.”

Tim began to take more interest. ”I've caught the biggest ba.s.s of the year,” he said.

”That's it; what did I tell you?” exclaimed the woman. ”I think you're going to have a lot of money left to you some day,” she added, noting at a glance Tim's poor attire. Little Tim grinned.

”You have some courage, too,” continued the woman, who had not failed to observe the boy's features and the glance of his eye. But at this moment Little Tim gave an exclamation of surprise. Surveying the room he had espied the lettering on a partly unrolled banner in one corner, where the words, ”Lorelei, the Sorceress,” were inscribed.

”Why, I've seen you before,” he said. ”That is, I haven't seen you, either; but I've seen your picture on that canvas--and you don't look like that at all.”

The woman laughed heartily. ”You're sure you don't think it looks like me?” she added, and laughed harder than ever. ”Well, I should hope not,”

she said; ”but I fix up like that some, for the show. Where'd you see me?”

”Why, it was down at Benton,” answered Tim. ”You were with the circus.”

Then, as the full remembrance of the occasion came to him, Tim became of a sudden excited. ”Say,” he asked, ”what did Old Witham want?”

The woman looked at him in surprise.

”Old Witham,” she repeated, ”I don't know who you mean. I don't know any Old Witham.”

”Oh, yes you do,” urged Tim; and he described the unmistakable figure and appearance of the corpulent colonel, together with the time and night of his visit. The woman's eyes lit with amus.e.m.e.nt. She remembered how the colonel had parted with his money painfully.

”Oh, he didn't want much,” she said. ”Somebody had hidden some papers in a factory or mill of some sort--that's what I thought, anyway--and he wanted me to tell him where they were.”

”Oh,” replied Tim, in a tone of disappointment. ”Is that all?” He had really fancied the colonel might have a love affair, and that it would be great fun to reveal it to the boys.

”Why, what business is it of yours, what he wanted?” inquired the woman.

”It ain't any,” answered Tim. ”Guess I'll go now;” and he made his escape through the door.

”Oh, she didn't tell me anything,” said Little Tim, as the boys surrounded him a moment later. ”Said I could catch fish, though. How do you suppose she knew that?”

Mr. Bangs seemed much amused. ”She's a real witch,” he exclaimed. ”Well, good-bye, boys. Come again next year.”

They said good-bye and started off.

”Say, Jack,” said Little Tim, as they walked along together, ”that's the fortune-teller that was down to Benton with the circus. Remember I told you we caught Witham coming out of the tent? Well, I asked her what he was there for, and it wasn't anything at all. He was only hunting for some papers that somebody had hidden--”

”What's that--tell me about that?”

Henry Burns, who had been walking close by, but who had been not greatly interested up to this point, had suddenly interrupted. ”What did Witham want?” he repeated.

Little Tim repeated the fortune-teller's words.

Henry Burns, hurrying ahead to where the others were walking, caught John Ellison by an arm and drew him away. ”Come back here a minute,” he said. ”Here, Tim, tell John what the fortune-teller said about Witham.”