UNVEILING THE PROPHETESS
"'Tis the Veiled Prophetess of Destiny," declaimed Elfreda with dramatic
intensity. "Excuse me, girls. I must conduct her to her grotto. If she
is not received with respectful ceremony, she is likely to hobble off to
other fields and leave us in the lurch. After all the pains I've taken
to insure her presence, I should hate to disappoint you at the last
minute."
"Where on earth did J. Elfreda manage to find her?" questioned Julia
Emerson. Distinct awe pervaded her tones.
Their gaze fixed upon the distinguished seeress, whom Elfreda was
solicitously piloting across the lawn to the grotto, no one answered
Julia's question. In fact, only one of their number was prepared to
reply to the query. Having taken the vow of silence, Miriam Nesbit's
tranquilly-composed features offered no sign of the significant
knowledge that lay behind them.
"Who will be the first to consult Amarna, the Seeress of the Seven
Veils?" intoned the now-returning Elfreda in solemn, sing-song accents.
Very practically she added: "I just now took the trouble to find out her
name."
"Can she tell the past?" quizzed Sara Emerson skeptically.
"She can. To Amarna the past is a freshly written page. From her occult
vision nothing lies hidden. Let me lead you to her." Elfreda crooked an
inviting arm.
With a joyful giggle Sara rose. Accepting the proffered guidance to the
seat of the all-wise Amarna, she proceeded to hustle her amiable
conductor over the grass toward the grotto at a most indecorous rate of
speed, born of her ardent determination to test the mettle of the
Seeress of the Seven Veils.
"Go ahead." Releasing Sara's arm, Elfreda gave her a gentle shove toward
the grotto and retired into a discreet patch of darkness to chuckle
unobserved.
"Stand where you are. I am Amarna," piped a thin, reedy voice. Sara
obediently came to a halt in the opening to the grotto and faced a
black-draped dais on which the illustrious prophetess reposed. In the
chastened yellow glow, cast by an enormous lantern hung directly over
where she now paused, Sara was plainly visible to the uncanny figure on
its perch. On the contrary, as Amarna sat well in the shadow, her face
still hidden behind her veil, she greatly resembled a huge black blot.
"You are not the only child in your father's house," continued the high
voice. "You have a sister who is your very counterpart. Both saw the
light on the same day, March the seventh."
The seeress went on with a detailed narration of various past events in
Sara's life which caused her eyes to grow round with wonder. The
subsequent prediction of a most remarkable future, in which fate had
apparently decreed that she should never marry but end her days as a
successful conductor of an art needle-work emporium, sent her scurrying
back to her friends divided between wonder of the mysterious being's
power to depict the past and disgust at the prospect of such a hum-drum
future.
"Do let me interview her next," pleaded Julia Emerson. "But first I
shall run up to my room and get my scarf. If Amarna can swathe her
distinguished features, so can I. Then she won't know I'm a twin. I must
say she seems better at reading the past than predicting the future. I
don't see how she could tell a single thing about you, Sara, when you
just stood still there. Fortune-tellers generally ask to look at one's
palm." Having delivered herself of this wise opinion, Julia flitted off
to the house to secure the disguising scarf.
"I defy you to pick me out as a twin," was her merry challenge, when
returning to the group on the lawn she wound her long chiffon scarf
twice about her head. "Thank goodness, Sarah and I never dress alike.
You'll have to lead me, J. Elfreda Briggs. I can see, of course; but
rather dimly."
Elfreda again performed the kindly office of conductor, leaving Julia in
precisely the same spot where Sara had lately stood.
"The eyes of Amarna cannot be deceived," calmly reproved the black shape
on the dais. "They see behind the flimsy veil and deep into your
thoughts. Your face is as the face of her who so lately sought me. The
bond of sisterhood stretches between you. That which is invisible to the
naked eye is visible to me. The road of the past winds clear and white
before me. Now I perceive that you----"
The result of Amarna's mystic meanderings down the road of the past were
never revealed. Tardily gifted with a most remarkable power of second
sight, Julia suddenly swooped down upon the weird Seeress of the Seven
Veils, emitting a gleeful shout. "You villain!" she chuckled, as she
caught the unfortunate sooth-sayer by the shoulders and administered a
playful shaking. Still firmly clutching her victim, she raised her voice
in a clear call of, "Girls, come here this instant!"
Having heard Julia's first wild shout, an investigating committee of
curious girls was already bearing down upon the grotto.
"Here's your Seeress!" laughed Julia. With a triumphant sweep of the
arm, she pulled aside the swathing black veil, to disclose the mirthful
features of Emma Dean, minus her glasses.
"Emma Dean!" went up the lusty cry from at least six surprised Sempers.
Elfreda and Miriam, however, had guessed the import of Julia's shrill
summons before running to the scene with the others.
"You ridiculous fraud!" exclaimed Sara Emerson, hugging Emma with
bearish enthusiasm. "No wonder you knew so much about my past and so
little of my future. And I never even suspected you."
"I'm next," declared Grace as she wrapped fond arms about the recently
age-bent figure which had miraculously recovered youth within a space of
three minutes. Emma was lovingly embraced by each girl in turn amid much
voluble greeting and accompanying laughter.
"The way of the seeress is hard," she commented humorously as she
finished the removal of her veil, which the astute Julia had begun. "No
more gloomy, ghostly grottos for Emily Elizabeth. Let the past and the
future take care care of itself. Hurrah for the glorious present! I hope
you giddy, gorgeous creatures can appreciate my noble, self-sacrificing
spirit. While you have been engaged in wearing your costliest raiment
and eating up a delectable dinner, I've been obliged to lurk like a
criminal in J. Elfreda's room, attired in somber, sable weeds."
"But when did you arrive, Emma?" asked Arline. "Of course we know now
that you and Elfreda perpetrated this dark but delightful plot. How you
managed to slip into the cottage without any of us seeing you is a
greater mystery than the Seeress of the Seven Veils could ever hope to
be."
"Oh, it was all planned beforehand," explained Emma cheerfully. "While
you loyal Sempers were out on the lawn this afternoon, stringing
lanterns, I was shut up in a third-story room peering owlishly down at
you through the shutters. I arrived here this morning, about an hour
before the rest of you. Kind and hospitable hostess that she seems to
be, I grieve to relate that I had hardly paid my respects to Mrs. Briggs
when J. Elfreda shut me up in that same third-story chamber with my
breakfast and left me to pine while she went gayly gallivanting down to
the train to meet you. When I have a little time I shall write a book
and entitle it, 'Locked Up for the Day; or All in the Name of
Friendship.'"
Emma beamed languishingly upon her listeners in order better to impress
them with her unfaltering loyalty to their interests. "In order to clear
my jailer of any unjust aspersions which unkind persons may cast upon
her, I might also add that she brought me some luncheon. As for my
dinner, I had finished it before you began yours. So you see, she at
least kept me in a well-nourished condition."
"Now we can be perfectly happy!" exulted Grace. "You are the last touch
needed to complete the reunion."
"I am always a blessing," returned Emma modestly. "To-night I happened
to be one in disguise. But I yearn to cast aside my sable robes of
prophesy and emerge from my room in gala garments. Lead me to my trunk,
J. Elfreda. The night is yet young and I'm anxious to make the most of
it."
"I never once thought of Emma Dean in connection with Elfreda's
fortune-teller," confessed Kathleen West ruefully. "I am afraid I'm
losing my nose for news."
"Neither did I," admitted Anne. "But you guessed it, didn't you,
Miriam?" Recalling the latter's inspiration of that afternoon, Anne
turned to her sister-in-law.
"Yes. It flashed across me all of a sudden. You know Elfreda said Emma
might descend upon us when we least expected her. That's what set me to
thinking."
"I ought to have guessed," mourned Sara Emerson. "All the glory of the
discovery goes to my twin sister. How did you find her out, Julia?"
"It was what she said. You know how funny Emma is. When we were at
Overton she was forever saying 'Now I perceive.' The minute I heard it
to-night I began to perceive, too."
When presently Emma joined her friends on the lawn, all traces of the
fabled Seeress of the Seven Veils had vanished. In a simple white
evening frock, eye-glasses firmly astride her nose, she was her usual
jolly self. Although Grace Harlowe was undoubtedly the best-loved member
of Semper Fidelis, Emma held an individual place in their hearts.
Wherever she walked, fun and laughter followed at her heels. Grace was
their inspiration to noble deeds; Emma their spirit of good cheer. One
and all they gathered about her and marshalled her to the veranda where
a hilarious hour ensued, followed by a concerted invasion on the
living-room, where they proceeded to entertain Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, who
had tactfully declined to intrude upon the dinner party, with an evening
of the old, familiar stunts with which they had so often lightened their
student days at Overton College.
It was well after midnight when, by common consent, the will to retire
for the night claimed them. Knowing the deep regard that existed between
Grace and Emma, Elfreda had arranged matters so that they might room
together. Although Anne was Grace's oldest friend, she had cheerfully
resigned her claim on Grace to Emma for the week.
"Well, Gracious, how is everything?" were Emma's first words when at
last they had shut themselves in their room for the night. "I can't
begin to tell you how dreadfully I've missed you. It gives me the blues
every time I think of Overton next year without you. But I know you are
happy, and that's at least one consolation."
"It's a mutual miss, Emma," assured Grace. "I have thought of you a
great deal and wished you were with me at home. Aside from not being
able to have my dearest friends with me all the time, my happiness has
been so complete this summer that I feel as though I ought to walk very
softly, for fear of losing some part of it."
"I understand. It's always so. One wonders if it's even wise to mention
it for fear of breaking the spell," mused Emma. "I suppose the best way
to do is to plod steadily along and not think much about anything but
the day's events. By the way, are you very sleepy?"
Grace shook her head. "Not a bit. On the contrary, I'm wide awake."
"Then let's doff our festival garb, clothe our magnificent selves in
kimonos and have a talking-bee," proposed Emma joyfully. "I'll give you
a faithful account of affairs in darkest Deanery, if you will agree to
furnish me with an equally detailed account of Harloweville doings. Is
it a go?"
"It is," acceded Grace with equal heartiness.
A little later, seated Turk fashion on Grace's bed, the two tried
comrades indulged in one of the protracted talks that had invariably
ended their day's work when together at Harlowe House. It was an
extremely confidential session, yet there was one bit of information
which Grace could not find it in her heart to divulge. Though it had
been over a week since she had said good-bye to Tom Gray, aside from a
brief letter written to her on the train just before his arrival at a
little town some miles from the lumber camp, she had received no further
communication from him. Within herself she argued that she had really no
cause for alarm. No doubt Tom had been too busy to write. Perhaps he had
written her, but, due to the isolation of the camp, had encountered
difficulty in mailing a letter to her. She would have liked to put the
situation before Emma, yet loyalty to love forbade her to speak of it
even to this trusted friend.