“Go on,” she said, in a low, almost pleading voice “Tell me--will those dark clouds ever be lifted from my life?” “It is hard to tell. I said I could read your future, but the clouds that overhang it are too dark and heavy. I cannot pierce their gloom. Perhaps the sun may shine for you again, perhaps, never! Let me see!” She held the little palm close up before her eyes. “Ah, there is a _secret_! You are young to hold so much hidden in your heart. I may tell you this much. You will never be happy until that secret is openly revealed! It will cost you too much to keep it hid! If there are any who love you they will never rest, they will never cease striving to fathom the secret that has shadowed your life so darkly.” She dropped the little hand abruptly, caught up her basket, and strode quickly away, leaving Aline and her mother stupefied with surprise. CHAPTER XXXVII. “What an old hag! Her hands were coarse like a man’s and her voice too!” cried vivacious Max. “It was no kind of a fortune, either. She did not say anything about your marrying. But I hope you never will; it was bad enough to lose Effie. I hope no one will ever persuade you away, Allie. No one is good enough for you!” “I am flattered by your extravagant opinion of my perfections. I think you need give yourself no uneasiness as to losing me,” Aline replied, making him a demure little courtesy. He laughed, and nodded. “I am glad of that. But come now, let me fasten your skates. You must come on the ice with me. You promised, you know, and I shall not let you go back on your word.” “I would rather go home, Max,” Aline answered. “No, dear, you need not be put down so easily. You may go on the ice with your brother a little while, then we will go home,” said Mrs. Rodney. Her pride and resentment had both been roused by the cavalier treatment Aline had received. She knew that her daughter was the most beautiful girl on the spot. No one there could at all compare with her. She was an accomplished skater too. Something like defiance rose in her mind. She would not let them drive Aline away with their scorn. She had as much right here as her severe judges. “Go on the ice with your brother a little while,” she repeated; “then we will go home.” She stood silently on the shore watching them as hand in hand they skimmed blithely across the icy surface of the beautiful river. Her thoughts were busy while her eyes followed the form of her beautiful girl in the bright costume that accorded so well with the gay scene. The strange words of the old lace-vender filled her with wonder. “How did she chance upon the truth so cleverly?” she asked herself. “What did she know of Aline’s troubles and her fatal secret? What did she mean by the dark man who influenced Aline’s life? Was it true--or why did Aline blush at her words? I have a mind to follow the woman and find out what she knows.” She looked around her, but the old woman had already disappeared from sight.