Dorothy Dale's Great Secret
school, Glendale or Glenwood or something like that. And didn’t she come to our camp next day to have her fortune told? Oh, she wanted to start out in the world for herself. You would help her, of course, but poor Urania—she must die,” and the girl threw herself down upon the grass and buried her head in the long wet spears.

Dorothy and Nat were too surprised to answer. Surely the girl must refer to Tavia, but Tavia had never ridden out alone with Nat, not even while he was at the automobile assembly near Glenwood. And Tavia could scarcely have gone to the fortune teller’s camp.

“I say I have never taken out any girl without my mother or my cousin being along,” Nat said, sharply, recovering himself.

“Then it was your girl with another fellow,” declared the wily Gypsy, not willing to be caught in an untruth. She arose from the grass and, seeing the telling expression on the faces of her listeners, like all of her cult, she knew she had hit upon a fact of some kind.

“My girl?” repeated Nat laughingly.

“Yes,” was the quick answer. “She had bright, pretty colored hair, brown eyes and her initials are O. T. I heard her tell Melea so.”

The initials, O. T., must surely be those of Octavia Travers thought Dorothy and Nat. But Nat knew better than to press the subject further. This cunning girl, in spite of her youth, he was sure, would make answers to suit the questions, and such freedom on the subject of Tavia (especially, now, when there were enough rumors to investigate), would simply be inviting trouble.

But Dorothy was not so wise in her eagerness to hear more. She wanted to know if her chum had really gone to the Gypsy camp from Glenwood, but she would not deign to ask if Tavia really went auto riding with some boys who attended the meet. That would be too mean even to think about! And besides, thought Dorothy suddenly, Tavia was sick during all the time of the automobile assembly.

“I can tell you more if you’ll give me money,” boldly spoke Urania. “I know all her fortune. I heard Melea tell her. I was outside the tent and I heard every word.”

“I thought that was against the practice of the Gypsies,” said Nat severely.

“Practice!” sneered the girl. “When a pretty girl comes to our camp I always listen. I like to find out what that kind think about! To see if they are different from Urania!”


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