“Ah, daughter, she is the true Romany,” interrupted Sybarina, suddenly appearing behind Harriet. “None but a true daughter of Romany could have said those words so well.” The old woman’s eyes gleamed with pride. Then she exclaimed: “I see strangers coming to the camp of the Gipsy! Would you have them see you, or would you watch them from the wagons?”
“From the wagons,” chorused the girls.
“The Romany princess, she of the brown eyes, may wander at will. The strangers will not think her a Gorgio. She is a true Romany.”
“Thank you, Sybarina, I will go with my friends. Perhaps I may come out later,” answered Harriet. She was dressed in Gipsy costume, and her face, already dark, had been slightly stained with herbs which the old woman had rubbed on both her face and hands.
The young men and women from nearby farms began to stroll into the camp to have their fortunes told. With them came several keen-eyed farmers, leading horses which they had brought in for a chance at a trade. The Gipsy men quickly gathered about the animals, then began the incessant talk of the horse trader, the Gipsies being particularly shrewd in that line of business. In the meantime Sybarina and several other women of the tribe were reading the futures of the giggling country girls. It was all very interesting to the girls in the nearby wagon. They were peering out from the darkened interior, unseen. Never before had they experienced anything so romantic or so picturesque.
Harriet finally wandered out into the field. She attracted attention only because of her slender figure and pretty face. She had no fear of being recognized, for no one there ever had seen her before.
“Isn’t she a typical Gipsy, though?” chuckled Jane, gazing admiringly at Harriet.
“Unless one knew she were not, one couldn’t tell the difference,” answered Miss Elting. “Just look at that girl for whom the queen is telling a fortune. See how eagerly she drinks in every word. Every word is true to her. She believes it all.”
“So does Sybarina,” replied Hazel.
“Yes, I think she does. Do you know, Jane, she told us when you arrived at the tent. I think it must have been at the moment when you reached there. I can’t imagine how she knew.”