tied down with a red handkerchief, shading the darkest old face she
had ever seen in her life.

"Who are you, I say, who comes to the Devil's Punch Bowl without
leave or license?" repeated the frightful creature, shifting her
cane from one hand to the other.

"I? I am Capitola Black, from Hurricane Hall; but who, in the name
of all the fates and furies, are you?" inquired Capitola, who, in
getting over the shock, had recovered her courage.

"I am Harriet the Seeress of Hidden Hollow!" replied the apparition,
in a melodramatic manner that would not have discredited the queen
of tragedy herself. "You have heard of me?"

"Yes, but I always heard you called Old Hat, the Witch," said Cap.

"The world is profane--give me your hand!" said the beldame,
reaching out her own to take that of Capitola.

"Stop! Is your hand clean? It looks very black!"

"Cleaner than yours will be when it is stained with blood, young
maiden!"

"Tut! If you insist on telling my fortune, tell me a pleasant one,
and I will pay you double," laughed Capitola.

"The fates are not to be mocked. Your destiny will be that which the
stars decree. To prove to you that I know this, I tell you that you