"I left my pack behind me, however, and I hope that compensated them for
the loss of their still. I'm sure the woman, at any rate, would value
its contents more highly."
They all burst into a laugh at the conclusion of Mr. Parker's odd story.
They were still laughing when Mandy rushed out on the porch.
"Miss Wren done be gone!" she shouted.
"Gone!" they all echoed, in dismayed tones.
"Yes. I done go to her room to see de poo' lamb is com'foble, and she
not there. I done find dis writin', too."
"Let me look at it," demanded Mr. Parker.
"It mighty hard to read. It sure is a scan-lous bit of writin'."
With this comment the colored woman handed over to her master a bit of
dirty wrapping paper.
On it was scrawled in almost illegible characters:
"U wont git hur agin.--The Romanys."
"The Romanys!" exclaimed Peggy.
"Yes; that's the gipsy word for themselves," said Mr. Parker. "I'm
afraid that the same band that had her before has stolen her again."
"What are we to do?" wailed Bess.
"Hush!" said Jess; "let Mr.
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