The Gipsy Prophecy


'I really think,' said the Doctor, 'that, at any rate, one of us should
go and try whether or not the thing is an imposture.'

'Good!' said Considine. 'After dinner we will take our cigars and stroll
over to the camp.'

Accordingly, when the dinner was over, and the _La Tour_ finished,
Joshua Considine and his friend, Dr Burleigh, went over to the east side
of the moor, where the gipsy encampment lay. As they were leaving, Mary
Considine, who had walked as far as the end of the garden where it
opened into the laneway, called after her husband:

'Mind, Joshua, you are to give them a fair chance, but don't give them
any clue to a fortune--and don't you get flirting with any of the gipsy
maidens--and take care to keep Gerald out of harm.'

For answer Considine held up his hand, as if taking a stage oath, and
whistled the air of the old song, 'The Gipsy Countess.' Gerald joined in
the strain, and then, breaking into merry laughter, the two men passed
along the laneway to the common, turning now and then to wave their
hands to Mary, who leaned over the gate, in the twilight, looking after
them.

It was a lovely evening in the summer; the very air was full of rest and