Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-06

of Gypsy wagons and horsemen came Into
the town the children would surround
the caravan" as they were wont to call
the dark-skinned travellers. ind would
watch their every movement with Intense
interest.
And today the school boys. who had
dared to leave the playground to run
down to the street. found m object Of
interest in the form Of a Gypsy lad, the
one mentioned as sitting on the seat Of
the front wagon and holding the horses
lines. He was not In appearance like
any Gypsy they had ever seen. He was
fair of complexion, blue-eyed, had light
auburn hair. and features that would
denote Irish ancestry, If not Irish par
ents. His face wore look OF sadness,
and he was thin and delicate In form. AS
the school boys stood about the wagon
that this little boy sat In one of them
yentured to address him: Say. kid, you
amt no Gypsy, are you? You look like
a decent white boy"
Immediately the old woman-a veritable
sibyl-thrust her tousled grey head
from under the wagon-cover and cried
out angrily at the school boys gathered
about the wagon: "Be off, you young
scamps. or I'll curse you and yours till
the end of timel Don't you dare to come
prying about the wagon of Dame Amara-
tha. I'm the seventh daughter of a sew
enth daughter, born with veil over my
face. l can read the past and the fu-
ture. l can also call down curses on the
heads Of my offenders. And when l say
Cursed be he let all men avoid him like
they would viper. My curses take on
direful form. So, be off, II you would not
suffer the consequences of Dame Amara-
tha's anger!
But more potent influence than the
old DANES anger impeled the school boys
to break and run away from the wagon.
1t WAS the tinkle, tinkle of the school bell
calling them In from play. But as they
assembled in the hall preparatory to
marching into the school-room Fred Geb-
hart, the boy who had addressed the little
Gypsy lad, turned to his comrade, saying:
Il bet my hat that kid has been stolen
from somewhere. He's not a Gypsy"
''Shore didn't look like one," assented
his comrade, Frank Small. But why do
you suppose he stays with 'em IL he's not
one Of 'em? He could run away
Maybe not so easy" declared Fred.
Then their whispered conversation was
stopped, for they were entering the
schoolroom, and going towards their seats.
That evening after school the boys
could talk of nothing but the Gypsies.
And the story gained ground that the
little blue-eyed kid who had been seen
acting as driver with the caravan" was
not real Gypsy, but a stolen child from
somewhere. And the more the boys
talked it over the more they determined
to find out more about that "kid'' II
such a thing were possible.
They're sure camped down on the
river" said Fred. ''They always stop
down there for few days to trade
horses at the farm houses round about,
and for the women to tell fortunes in
town. So, If we go down to their camp,
make believe we've got horse to swap,
and some of us pretend we want our
fortunes told, wen get a chance to speak
with the kid, maybe 1t would be a good
idea for us all to throw In a nickel
apiece and let one feller have his fortune
told for sure; and while the old woman
she's the one we've got to watch-is busy