threshold, wiping
her arms on her apron and commiseratingly observing that she "declared,
the young folks looked better already."

But it was here a more dangerous element of mystery and suggestion was
added by Mr. Lawrence Grant in the telling of Miss Euphemia's fortune
from the cards before him, and that young lady, pink with excitement,
fluttered her little hands not unlike timid birds over the cards to be
drawn, taking them from him with an audible twitter of anxiety and
great doubts whether a certain "fair-haired gentleman" was in hearts or
diamonds.

"Here are two strangers," said Mr. Grant, with extraordinary gravity
laying down the cards, "and here is a 'journey;' this is 'unexpected
news,' and this ten of diamonds means 'great wealth' to you, which you
see follows the advent of the two strangers and is some way connected
with them."

"Oh, indeed," said the young lady with great pertness and a toss of her
head. "I suppose they've got the money with them."

"No, though it reaches you through them," he answered with unflinching
solemnity. "Wait a bit, I have it! I see, I've made a mistake with this
card. It signifies a journey or a road. Queer! isn't it, Steve? It's THE
ROAD."

"It is queer," said Rice with equal gravity; "but it's so. The road,
sure!" Nevertheless he looked up into the large eyes of Clementina with
a certain confidential air of truthfulness.

"You see, ladies," continued the surveyor, appealing to them with
unabashed rigidity of feature, "the cards don't lie! Luckily we are in
a position to corroborate them. The road in question is a secret known
only to us and some capitalists in San Francisco. In fact even THEY
don't know that it is feasible until WE report to them. But I don't mind
telling you now, as a slight return for your charming hospitality, that
the road is a RAILROAD from Oakland to Tasajara Creek of which we've
just made the preliminary survey. So you see what the cards mean is
this: You're not far from Tasajara Creek; in fact with a very little
expense your father could connect this stream with the creek, and have a
WATERWAY STRAIGHT TO THE RAILROAD TERMINUS. That's the wealth the cards
promise; and if your father knows how to take a hint he can make his
fortune!"

It was impossible to say which was the most dominant in the face of the
speaker, the expression of assumed gravity or the twinkling of humor in
his eyes. The two girls with superior feminine perception divined
t