"The Crooked Land we Romany calls it," insisted the old woman. "And the
child will go there, for her witchly doings."

"She's too good-looking to lose as a model, at all events," said
Lambert, hitching his shoulders. "I shall leave you to have your fortune
told, Clara, and follow Chaldea to pacify her."

As he went toward the centre of the camp, Miss Greeby took a hesitating
step as though to follow him. In her opinion Chaldea was much too
good-looking, let alone clever, for Lambert to deal with alone. Gentilla
Stanley saw the look on the hard face and the softening of the hard eyes
as the cheeks grew rosy red. From this emotion she drew her conclusions,
and she chuckled to think of how true a fortune she could tell the
visitor on these premises. Mother Cockleshell's fortune-telling was not
entirely fraudulent, but when her clairvoyance was not in working order
she made use of character-reading with good results.

"Won't the Gorgios lady have her fortune told?" she asked in wheedling
tones. "Cross Mother Cockleshell's hand with silver and she'll tell the
coming years truly."

"Why do they call you Mother Cockleshell?" demanded Miss Greeby, waiving
the question of fortune-telling for the time being.

"Bless your wisdom, it was them fishermen at Grimsby who did so. I
walked the beaches for years and told charms and gave witchly spells for
fine weather. Gentilla Stanley am I called, but Mother Cockleshell was
their name for me. But the fortune, my tender Gentile--"