Tobin and me， the two of us， went down to Coney oneday， for there was four dollars between us， and Tobin hadneed of distractions. For there was Katie Mahorner， hissweetheart， of County Sligo， lost since she started forAmerica three months before with two hundred dollars，her own savings， and one hundred dollars from the sale ofTobin’s inherited estate， a fine cottage and pig on the BogShannaugh. And since the letter that Tobin got saying thatshe had started to come to him not a bit of news had heheard or seen of Katie Mahorner. Tobin advertised in thepapers， but nothing could be found of the colleen.
So， to Coney me and Tobin went， thinking that a turnat the chutes and the smell of the popcorn might raisethe heart in his bosom. But Tobin was a hardheaded man，and the sadness stuck in his skin. He ground his teeth atthe crying balloons； he cursed the moving pictures； and，though he would drink whenever asked， he scorned Punchand Judy， and was for licking the tintype men as theycame.
So I gets him down a side way on a board walk wherethe attractions were some less violent. At a little six byeight stall Tobin halts， with a more human look in his eye.
“’Tis here，” says he， “I will be diverted. I’ll have the palmof me hand investigated by the wonderful palmist of theNile， and see if what is to be will be.”
Tobin was a believer in signs and the unnatural innature. He possessed illegal convictions in his mind alongthe subjects of black cats， lucky numbers， and the weatherpredictions in the papers.
We went into the enchanted chicken coop， which wasfixed mysterious with red cloth and pictures of hands withlines crossing ’em like a railroad centre. The sign over thedoor says it is Madame Zozo the Egyptian Palmist. Therewas a fat woman inside in a red jumper with pothooks andbeasties embroidered upon it. Tobin gives her ten centsand extends one of his hands. She lifts Tobin’s hand， whichis own brother to the hoof of a drayhorse， and examines itto see whether ’tis a stone in the frog or a cast shoe he hascome for.
“Man，” says this Madame Zozo， “the line of your fateshows—”
“Tis not me foot at all，” says Tobin， interrupting. “Sure，’tis no beauty， but ye hold the palm of me hand.”
“The line shows，” says the Madame， “that ye’ve notarrived at your time of life without bad luck. And there’smore to come. The mount of Venus—or is that a stonebruise？—shows that ye’ve been in love. There’s beentrouble in your life on account of your sweetheart.”
“’Tis Katie Mahorner she has references with，” whispersTobin to me in a loud voice to one side.
“I see，” says the palmist， “a great deal of sorrow andtribulation with one whom ye cannot forget. I see thelines of designation point to the letter K and the letter Min her name.”
“Whist！” says Tobin to me， “do ye hear that？”
“Look out，” goes on the palmist， “for a dark man and alight woman； for they’ll both bring ye trouble. Ye’ll make avoyage upon the water very soon， and have a financial loss.
I see one line that brings good luck. There’s a man cominginto your life who will fetch ye good fortune. Ye’ll knowhim when ye see him by his crooked nose.”
“Is his name set down？” asks Tobin. “’Twill be convenientin the way of greeting when he backs up to dump off thegood luck.”
“His name，” says the palmist， thoughtful looking， “is notspelled out by the lines， but they indicate ’tis a long one，and the letter ‘o’ should be in it. There’s no more to tell.
Good-evening. Don’t block up the door.”
“’Tis wonderful how she knows，” says Tobin as we walkto the pier.
As we squeezed through the gates a nigger man stickshis lighted segar against Tobin’s ear， and there is trouble.
Tobin hammers his neck， and the women squeal， and bypresence of mind I drag the little man out of the waybefore the police comes. Tobin is always in an ugly moodwhen enjoying himself.
On the boat going back， when the man calls “Whowants the good-looking waiter？” Tobin tried to pleadguilty， feeling the desire to blow the foam off a crock ofsuds， but when he felt in his pocket he found himselfdischarged for lack of evidence. Somebody had disturbedhis change during the commotion. So we sat， dry， uponthe stools， listening to the Dagoes fiddling on deck. Ifanything， Tobin was lower in spirits and less congenialwith his misfortunes than when we started.
On a seat against the railing was a young woman dressedsuitable for red automobiles， with hair the colour of anunsmoked meerschaum. In passing by， Tobin kicks herfoot without intentions， and， being polite to ladies whenin drink， he tries to give his hat a twist while apologising.
But he knocks it off， and the wind carries it overboard.
Tobin came back and sat down， and I began to lookout for him， for the man’s adversities were becomingfrequent. He was apt， when pushed so close by hard luck，to kick the best dressed man he could see， and try to takecommand of the boat.
Presently Tobin grabs my arm and says， excited： “Jawn，”
says he， “do ye know what we’re doing？ We’re taking avoyage upon the water.”
“There now，” says I； “subdue yeself. The boat’ll land inten minutes more.”
“Look，” says he， “at the light lady upon the bench. Andhave ye forgotten the nigger man that burned me ear？ Andisn’t the money I had gone—a dollar sixty-five it was？”
I thought he was no more than summing up his catastrophesso as to get violent with good excuse， as men will do， and Itried to make him understand such things was trifles.
“Listen，” says Tobin. “Ye’ve no ear for the gift of prophecyor the miracles of the inspired. What did the palmist ladytell ye out of me hand？ ’Tis coming true before your eyes.
‘Look out，’ says she， ‘for a dark man and a light woman；they’ll bring ye trouble.’ Have ye forgot the nigger man，though he got some of it back from me fist？ Can ye showme a lighter woman than the blonde lady that was thecause of me hat falling in the water？ And where’s thedollar sixty-five I had in me vest when we left the shootinggallery？”
