Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/196

180 to her ankles, she wore no collar, and the button at  the neck was hanging by a thread, and her long dark hair,  was tied so loosely as to look like an unkempt mane. As she drew near, she held the baskets toward them.

“Only a quarter for any of them,” she said, “only a quarter.”

Brenda drew out her little purse, “I ’ll take one,” she said, picking out a small one which she immediately hung  on her arm. The stout old woman at the opening of the tent continued to smile at them. Then she beckoned to the girl.

“I wish we had asked her if we could see the inside of the tent, that is what I really want,” said Brenda.

Just then the old woman came forward.

“The young lady has a pretty hand,” she said, pointing to Brenda’s right hand, from which she had removed her  glove. Brenda received the compliment a little awkwardly. She did not know just what to say.

“A little silver, ladies,” said the old gypsy, “and your fortunes—”

“There,” said Brenda, “that’s what we’d like, our fortunes told.”

“This way, then,” said the old woman, smiling with satisfaction, and she led them toward the largest of the two wagons standing there. Going ahead, she mounted the steps, and the girls were on the point of following,  when they thought of their bicycles.

“Perfectly safe to leave them right there. Nobody touch them,” said the old woman; but Nora felt that it