The herald., 1894-09-16

Jnce. There is sono dreadful misapprc-
| hension. What ii amy one should oyor.
hear? Think -
eyes, agreed Sophronia, staying III
arIM, lyon are right. We must dissem-
BILE. But let me go, not you. Here comes
Abigail. Your greeting will allay her
suyIcions. Farewell until kinder
h>zc Be our watchword secrecy and
trust. - And with a smile which Jnliet
would have deemed unseemly she trip.
ped away.
Poor thing, =" he soliloquized. ''poor
child! So young, SO fair! She has gone
crazy, and evidently l alono am aware
of it Now, what is my duty? Hodges,
the proprietor, who has the girls in spe-
cial care, is away for a week. But here
comes Abigail. How composed, how
sensible her bearing l must break the
sad intelligence TO her. Luckily her
strong mind will temper grief with
good judgment. p"
And yet, even as Paul resolved, there
was certain unwonted sprightliness
becoming apparent in Miss Abigail's
approach which caused vague apprehen-
sion.
MY dear young lady," he began,
and his nervousness lent ardor to his
words, II am inexpressibly thankful to
SEQ you. There is a subject, delicate,
closely intimate, on which 1 must
speak.
Yes" whispered Abigail, with
downcast eyes, ~ think l under
stand''--
''Your sister"--
"You fear she may suspect? Yes,
there is danger. We must be cautious.
We must dissemble. We must meet as
stranger" -
Good Lord!' groaned Paul.
"There, darling, don't be impatient.
I know it's hard, but perfect trust is
such courage. Remember our motto in
the dear old days, 'Semper Fidelis.
See, Twill set an example of prudence. "
And, coyly touching her forefnger to
her lips, Abigail likewise tripped away.
II see how it is" concluded Paul
gloomily after a moments pondering.
81 am going daft myself-overwork and
worry, [ suppose. Perhaps though, the
dread malady may be checked in its in
ception. will go to my room and take
every sort of pellet in our medicine box.
l shall surely thus get the right one. "
But despite this diagnosis he walked to
the open window of the smoking room
and looked in, in fear lest some one
might have heard these conversations
| if perchance they had really occurred
AS he failed to look behind the door,
hnxrauor ho M ord
away satisfied in his most unsatisfac-
tory secrecy. Had he looked behind the
door he would have seen Mason Welles,
and from the expression of his face not
only have been reassured as to the gen
uineness of these conversations but
warned as to the use that unscrupuIaas
young man would make of his knowl-
edge.
Mason Welles had indeed been wit
ness, and an expert one, too, for he had
known the Mantell girls from their
childhood, and now, as he reviewed the
singularity of their single conduct, he
was able to trace its course He remem-
bered long ago hearing his father, DR..
Welles, shrewd old physician that he
was, discuss the idiosyncrasy Of the
Mantell twins. "Those children are not
simpletons, his parent had said. "To-
gether they possess all the faculties.
The trouble is that certain ones, due to
the mysterious intimacy of their birth,
they hold in common. Separately each
one is apt to grin and caper like an idiot.
/ do not believe that any education,
however thorough, can eradicate this
Stiffness. But when they are kept in
company, as they should be, this per-
version not only disappears, but they
are utterly oblivious that it ever exist
ed. In fact, one is the complement Of
the other. Together they form the per-
feet circle Of common sense. The rem
edy is, and I have impressed it on their
parents to make them to all intents
and purposes Siamese twins. -
Years had passed since childish
pranks had provoked his fathers speech,
and since then Mason had seen the girls
develop into the fullness of cultured
| young womanhood, and he had forgotten
that there had been time when their
sanity had been topic for sympathiz-
ing friends. Now, for truth, he re-
membered it all, as he also remembered
that until this hour he had not seen
them apart. Now, through deduction,
he comprehended that together the sis
ters had entertained highly proper and
respectful admiration for Paul Dupont,
which had affected each OF them when
separated thus disastrously. "If that
little witch Of an Alice could witness
their fond attentions" Mason comment
ed, perhaps she would abandon her
abominable pretense of prudery." And
upon this hypothesis he began to scheme
demonstration.
To Paul in his course Of treatment
came no such clarity of vision. But
since his head remained unaffected,
however much his stomach did suffer,
he gained slight approximation to the
situation. Evidently what had happened
had happened, incredible though it ap-
peared. The solution rested solely with
old Hodges. Until his return he was
helpless Unless-why, of course, un-
less he could play one sister against the
other. Each had asserted the necessity
of assembling Undoubtedly, then, if
be could associate with them jointly the
old formality would continue, and, bet
ter still, he would be relieved from tho