"It might be almost anything I guess," muttered Nat. "Let's hear what he says. I wonder how he got here, anyhow."
"I'm Professor Punjab," replied Hemp Smith. "As you can understand by my name I am from East India, but I have been here so long I have acquired some of the habits."
"Most of the bad ones," said Jack, under his breath.
"What do you work at?" asked Mr. Post.
"Work? I do not work," replied the fakir. "I am what you might call a mind reader, a mystic, a foreteller of future events."
"Ain't no mesmerizer, are you?" asked Mr. Post.
"Yes, I can do that also," replied Professor Punjab. "Shall I give you a sample?"
"I'd rather have you give me a sample of your fortune telling," said the miner. "What's going to happen now?"
Professor Punjab seemed to go into a deep thought trance. Then he gave a sudden start.
"The train is going to stop quickly because there is an obstruction on the track!" he exclaimed.