k. He first shut the door and
leant back against it. There were a good eight or ten yards between him
and the end of the room where we sat. He looked across at me, and we
all laughed together.

"`The words written on the paper in your hand are: "Burmah! To the
memory of a good old time!" You did not write it yourself--you have
never been in Burmah; it was the gentleman to your left who wrote it--
the gentleman with the grey hair. Am I not right, sir?'

"`You are,' said my friend, gasping. We did not laugh any more. He
pointed to another fellow, and read out what I had written.

"`That was written by the gentleman with the brown eyes. It is his
mother's name,' he said; and I felt cold all down my spine. The man who
had showed me his paper had drawn his own slip when they were shuffled
together in the bowl. The conjurer knew that too. He pointed at him
and said: `You have written your own opinion of me in the paper you
hold. "_I don't believe in any of this trickery_."' He paused for a
moment, and then said quietly: `You are prejudiced, sir; but you will
learn wisdom. A year from to-day you will understand my secrets.' He
drew himself up, and his eyes flashed; he turned to us, each in turn,
and said a few, short, prophetic words. There was a poor barrister
among us, a clever fellow, but he had no luck; he was in a very tight
place at that time. He said to him: `on the 2nd of February, 1862, you
will put your foot on the first step of the ladder which leads to
fortune.' That was five years later on. The poor fellow smiled and
said: `can't you hurry it on a bit?' The man who was dining us came
next. He didn't like his share. It sounded cryptic enough to the rest
of us, but _he_ understood. You could see that by his face. My own
message--"

He stopped short, laughing softly, but with an utter absence of
embarrassment, and Vanna's eager glance bespoke her curiosity.

"My own message was equally cryptic, but I did _not_ understand. I
don't understand it now. I have not been too fortunate in money
matters, and it refers to that, no doubt. He said: `you will seek
fortune, and find it not. Where the rose blooms beneath the palm, there
awaits your treasure.'"

"`Where the rose blooms beneath the palm!'" Vanna repeated the words in
a breathless whisper. "But how thrilling--how exciting! What could he
mean? Aren't you anxious; aren't you curious? Don't you go about daily
waiting to see what w