“Kneel,” said this attendant and Catherine knelt down before the gypsy princess who sat on a throne of pillows, most gorgeous to behold in her red and green frock.
“Oh-h!” cried the fortune-teller, as soon as she saw Catherine. “I see a door.”
Then Catherine saw that in her hand the gypsy held a little silver ball.
“What kind of a door is it?” whispered Catherine fearfully.
“It’s a queer, barn door,” the gypsy answered. “Can’t you see it?”—and she held the silver ball down close to Catherine’s eyes.
“It must be the corncrib door,” said Catherine, staring into the silver ball.
It was the gypsy’s turn to stare. She didn’t say anything but Catherine could feel her staring through her veil.
“I had a party Hallowe’en night, at my house,” went on Catherine. “And two girls won a box of candy for a prize. They didn’t eat it and I thought perhaps they wouldn’t want it, and I might as well have it myself. I didn’t know where else to hide it, to keep the other children from eating it, so I put it in the corncrib. I knew the mice or rats couldn’t get it there and I could take it out in the morning.”
The gypsy princess leaned down from her throne.
“Go on,” she commanded, while the attendant looked as though she might be glued to the floor.