It was an uncomfortable few minutes for sober Betty when Lucia entered a large and beautifully furnished sitting-room upstairs and found the countess there. Briefly Lucia told Countess Coletti what had happened and said that she had followed directions. "The girls were lovely, Mother, and I brought Betty along to tell you better how the snake looked."

The countess rose in some excitement and went directly to a low table on which the telephone apparatus stood. She tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for the operator to put her in touch with a doctor, whose presence was requested and the reason told him. Then there followed a busy few minutes of directions to Lucia and maids or persons of some sort, and when Lucia was ordered to her room, Betty rose from her chair to go.

"Mother, can't Betty stay to lunch with me?" asked Lucia, protesting. "I asked her to."

"Oh, but," began Betty, but the countess turned to Betty, whom she had scarcely noticed, with a charming smile. "Another time, Lucia. Thank you, Betty Lee, for everything. Now I must see to Lucia," And Betty understood that she was dismissed. That smile would make everything seem all right, thought Betty, as she was courteously bowed out by a solemn butler. "I imagine that Countess Coletti tries that on the count times when she is having her own way! But she can certainly do things!"

So ran Betty's thoughts, for Betty was learning to be an observing little person, though ashamed of herself when her observations were the least unfriendly. No car but the street-car waited for Betty, but she took one after quite a walk and went home to tell her mother and the rest all about the "latest excitement" and to enjoy a delayed lunch.

CHAPTER XI: HALLOWE'EN SURPRISES

It was Hallowe'en, so much more thrilling in the city than in the small place which Betty Lee formerly called home. In the different suburbs, like villages themselves, children were already appearing on the street in costumes and masks, although it was scarcely dark. Many of them carried baskets, for in gypsy fashion, perhaps, they were accustomed to receive contributions from the persons whose bells they rang.

Mrs. Lee did not like the custom and would not allow d.i.c.k or Doris to "beg," as she called it. "Have all the fun you want in costume," she said, "but don't ask for charity!" Mr. Lee made no mention of the fact that he intended to trail the children a little to see that they were not carried away by the freedom of the night, but he told his wife that Policeman Leary would be "on the job" and that he was an easy-going soul when children were concerned. Mrs. Lee was not so sure that easy-going would do on Hallowe'en, but her husband explained. "He will not stand for any destruction of property, particularly in this neighborhood, but he's not likely to arrest children or be hard on them."

From the standpoint of d.i.c.k, Doris and Betty, everything was lovely.

Even little Amy Lou was permitted to dress up and as she made an adorable little gypsy, with a fetching mask balanced on her small nose, Doris was rather proud to lead her forth. "We'll bring you right back if you get fussy, though," warned d.i.c.k, "and I have to go with the boys pretty soon."

"Oh, d.i.c.kie, I won't fuss, honest! And Dorry will take care of me, won't you Dorry?"

"Yes, for a while, anyhow, as long as you ought to stay out. I wish you were going to be at home, Betty!"

"I don't," frankly replied Betty, who was in front of the mirror seeing how she looked in the small black mask, from whose openings her eyes twinkled. "But you will have lots of fun, and if you give Amy Lou a grand little outing, she'll be angelic when she comes in; for Mother's going to have a little Hallowe'en party for her, all by herself, with a great surprise!"

As Betty spoke, she looked down at the tiny gypsy, very solemn and important now. Amy Lou smiled up, however, with a smile much like that with which her older sister was regarding her. "Give me a name, Betty!

Give me a name!" she demanded, "a gypsy name!"

"Oh, you're the Queen of the gypsies, the Princess Maria Sophia Cleopatra Amy Lou."

"All right," shouted Amy Lou, running out of the bedroom to follow Doris, who was ready to start.

Betty's costume was not one as hastily fabricated as those of the other children for her mother, realizing that she was to mingle with other boys and girls who would be well costumed, had gone to considerable trouble to make her "little girl" pretty. Betty was t.i.tania of the fairies and was airily dressed in white with "spangles" appropriately attached, Roman pearls around her young neck, several tinkling bracelets on her arms and a few tiny silver bells so disposed that they sounded a little as she walked. And now her mother brought a warm wrap for her shoulders and the long, shrouding domino that she was to wear over all.

What fun!

There followed the ride to the party in Mr. Lee's car and a merry good-bye to him as she joined the company of shrouded figures or funnily costumed ones that were descending from automobiles, or entering the gates, or being ushered in at the door of the house. My, it was going to be a large party, but Marcella had told her at school that she had decided not to have it confined to juniors at all. "I owe such a lot of the girls, and so I'm going to have--everybody!"

It was not quite that, to be sure, but the upstairs rooms were full where wraps were being laid aside. How funny not to know a soul to speak to! But Carolyn had told her what her costume would be and she had confided what hers would be. Perhaps Carolyn knew about some of the others.

"Oh, aren't you sweet!" squealed somebody in a high, a.s.sumed voice.

"Look, girls, here's the queen of the fairies. Now, who is she? Gilt hair, cute chin and a dimple or two!"

Betty laughed at the description. So she had gilt hair, had she? That hair had been arranged as she never wore it before. She did hope that she wouldn't be found out right away; yet this girl was a tall one and n.o.body she knew, she imagined. But she picked up her fairy wand, laid aside while she removed her wraps, and waved it regally toward the speaker. She, too, tried to disguise her voice as she said, "The fairy queen bestows honors and gifts for tonight!"

At that a slim little person in a gay gypsy costume ran up, holding out her palm. "Cross my palm with a nickel, t.i.tania, and I'll tell you a fortune, for even the fairies don't know everything!"

The gypsy's voice was pitched low and rang a little hollow; but surely Betty knew that hand and arm, all covered with rings, beads and glittering gold or bra.s.s! "Oh, it's you, Gypsy, isn't it?" she whispered in the gypsy's ear. "I might know that you would be a real gypsy tonight! You look darling!"

"Then I didn't fool you a little bit! I hope I have better luck with other people. Was it my voice?"

"No, your hand, Gypsy. And did you know me right off?"

"No, honey, not till you said 'Gypsy' just now. n.o.body else calls me that much--yet."

"Yet is a good word, Kathryn. After tonight you may be called that more.

Let's go around together, then, the Gypsy Queen and the Fairy Queen, that is, I'm _supposed_ to be it."

Together Kathryn Allen and Betty Lee descended the stairs where their feet sank into a soft carpet. Below, on either side of the hall, large rooms stretched out, opening in to the hall with its pillars and draperies. "What a lovely home," said Betty.

"Yes, isn't it. I've never been here before. And aren't the Hallowe'en decorations cute?"

Arm in arm the girls entered at the right, where a sort of receiving line seemed to be. And there was Marcella, without her mask, yet covered with a domino which concealed her costume. "h.e.l.lo, girls," she greeted them. "I'm sorry not to be able to speak your names, but I think you need no introduction for I can guess what you are without any trouble.

t.i.tania, greetings. By what name shall I call your friend?"

"Allow me to present the Gypsy Queen, Miss Waite," said Betty with mock formality.

"Happy to meet you. t.i.tania, let me introduce the Sultan of Turkey and the Pirate of Penzance."

Two tall lads stood just beyond Marcella. Betty shook hands with a richly dressed "Sultan" and a wildly equipped pirate, who looked very handsome and bent over Betty's hand like some cavalier of old. Betty wondered if these boys were guests or just on a sort of receiving committee. If the pirate were one of the boys in school, he must be a senior or one of the older junior boys she was sure.

Two boys, who had been chatting with some others, turned back to be introduced to Betty and Kathryn by the pirate and Betty understood that they, too, properly belonged in the receiving line. All were masked except Marcella, who wanted to meet her guests in her proper person.

"The thing to do next," said one of the girls, "is to go through the main rooms, see the decorations, visit the tent and have your fortune told, go and bob for apples or do some of the other stunts, whatever you can get in before the masked dancing begins. We're going to have the old-fashioned square dances just as soon as everybody is here. But of course, you're to talk to the other girls and boys and try to find out who they are--oh, you'll see what to do. Marcella has somebody to tell you."

Kathryn and Betty, however, did not feel like fortunes yet. They looked all around for Carolyn, who evidently had not arrived, and had an amusing conversation with a rollicking clown, who turned out to be, so they thought, Chet Dorrance; but he would not acknowledge it when Kathryn said that she "guessed it was Chet." Betty hoped that Ted was there among some of the tall figures. He probably knew Marcella.

"It's a good thing we've been having the funny old dances in 'gym,'

isn't it?" asked Kathryn. "Do you suppose the boys know 'em?"

"They can learn. I imagine we'll all be told what to do. Besides, n.o.body has to dance that doesn't want to."

Carolyn came and found the girls, though she was claimed almost immediately by another clown, very spotty as to his ruffled and bulging suit and wearing at first a mask which covered his entire face, but that proved too hot. He had an ordinary mask in his pocket, he told Carolyn, who encouraged him to put it on. "Get into a corner and whisk off that hot mask," she advised. "I'll turn my back to you and hand you the little one."

"You won't give me away if you happen to see?"

"Of course not. I will _keep your secret_ till we unmask!" she added, in lofty tones, then giggled.

Meantime, Betty decided that she would have her fortune told. Kathryn said that she would do it, too, and see what the other gypsy looked like.

The tent was a flimsy affair, as one put up in a drawing room would necessarily be. The fortune-teller was one of the older girls, who did it very cleverly. Her costume was not like Kathryn's, but very gay with sashes and ribbons, beads and jewelry of all sorts. Her long earrings glittered and the wide gold bracelets that she wore jingled as they were struck by other loose narrow ones.

"I see that you will have to make a great choice," she said to Betty, as Betty stretched forth her capable little hand and the gypsy pored over it, or looked at as much of Betty's face as she could see.

"You have gifts. You might have a career. You are musical and there are some practical lines in your hand, too. Your life line is good--yes, I see a long life for you. You are rather creative."

"What is the great choice?" asked Betty.