The morning after the circus had left the town, as the older girls were going into one of the smaller recitation-rooms to the English literature class, Edna whispered to Addie in the five minutes that were always allowed on every change of room:
“Hasn’t the circus gone?”
“Yes; went last night.”
“And now we can’t have our fortunes told!”
“Yes, you can, for Madame Belotti hasn’t gone.”
“O, good!”
“I thought you’d be glad, and she and her sister have promised to come up to the grove by the back gate at twelve o’clock. Of course she can’t be fixed up as a sphinx, because her rigging had to go off in the vans. She’s great fun any way; for one thing she can give you lucky numbers. But she wants Elfie to come. She says she saw her once when you all walked to the village, and she says there’s something uncommon in her eyes that shows she’s got second sight.”
“I don’t know as we can bring Elfie, and I don’t believe she ever saw her, either.”
“Then we’d better stay away ourselves, for Madame Belotti will get out of temper and not tell us any thing.”
“Well, we must manage it somehow, but I do wish I could have seen madame as a sphinx.”