see the man go away--alone. The
little child remains behind. I see him growing up. He has become a
large boy, but the scene has changed. The inn has disappeared. I see a
pleasant village and a comfortable house. The boy stands at the door.
He is well-grown now. A lady stands on the threshold as his steps turn
away. She is thin and sharp-faced. She is not like the lady who
welcomed the little child. Can you tell me who this boy is?" asked the
fortune-teller, fixing her eyes upon Phil.

"It is myself!" he answers, his flushed face showing the excitement he
felt.

"You have said!"

"I don't know how you have learned all this," said Phil, "but it is
wonderfully exact. Will you answer a question?"

"Ask!"

"You say my father--my real father--is living?"

The veiled lady bowed her head.

"Where is he?"

"That I cannot say, but he is looking for you."

"He is in search of me?"

"Yes."

"Why has he delayed it so long?"

"There are circumstances which I cannot explain which have prevented his
seeking and claiming you."

"Will he do so?"

"I have told you that he is now seeking for you. I think he will find
you at last."

"What can I do to bring this about?"

"Do nothing! Stay where you are. Circumstances are working favorably,
but you must wait. There are some drawbacks."

"What are they?"

"You have two enemies, or rather one, for the other does not count."

"Is that enemy a man?"

"No, it is a woman."

"My step-mother!" ejaculated Phil, with immediate conviction.

"You have guessed aright."

"And who is the other?"

"A boy."

"Jonas?"

"It is the son of the woman whom you call your step-mother."

"What harm can they do me? I am not afraid of them," said Phil, raising
his head proudly.

"Do not be too confident! The meanest are capable of harm. Mrs. Brent
does not like you because she is a mother."

"She fears that I will interfere with her son."

"You are all right."

"Is there anything more you can tell me?" asked Phil. "Have I any other
enemies?"

"Yes; there are two more--also a woman and her son."

"That puzzles me. I can think of no one."

"They live in the city."

"I know. It is Mrs. Pitkin, my employer's wife. Why should she dislike
me?"

"There is an old man who likes you. That is the cause."

"I see. She doesn't want him to be kind to any one out of the family."

"That is all I have to tell you," said the fortune-teller abruptly. "You
can go."

"You have told