A querulous voice from the inside was heard saying: "Come Captain, come
in if you insist," an invitation which was quickly accepted by the
captain who was followed by Paul and the pilot. On entering the back
room, a curious sight presented itself. The seeress looked far
different from the picture Paul had formed of her in his mind. She was
not over five feet high and so thin and wrinkled that she resembled a
mummy rather than a human being. On her head she wore a turban formed of
some bright colored cloth, while the balance of her apparel consisted
of a dark robe embroidered with snakes and other reptiles. The room
was adorned with skins of serpents, bunches of herbs, and many weird
looking objects.
"So, Captain Balbo, you came to see me at last," exclaimed the old
crone; "and who is that young stranger from the far off north that I see
at your side?"
The captain was dumbfounded at hearing his name announced by a person
whom he had never seen before, but shrewdly remarked:
"If ye know me, why is it ye don't know this young stranger?"
"Ah," responded the fortune-teller, "if he sought me I would know him.
He has simply accompanied you as a sightseer. Now, Captain, what can I
do for you?"
"How ye know me, Lucinda, is morn than Oi can comprehend, Oi've often
heard av ye.
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