The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-07-19
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By Cecilia A. Loizeau.
Copyright, 1906, BY Homer !Spraguc
BY Cecilia A. Loizeaux
:. JARED BARTON leaned
his gray head YEARLY OH his
hand.

QsD There they so again." he
said aloud in a distressed tone. And
before she came here they were thicker
than thieves. l wish could find a
way out of this mess
The angry voices which had been the
cause of this soliloquy became angrier
and nearer:
"And if j ever see you looking at
her again with that sick cat expression
on your mug I'll injure it so you can't
grin for u week.
ing in spite of himself at this threat
"Bess says she's a bully nurse,' said
the other voice. I'D have good care"
Bert always gets ahead. He's just
what was when l was his age"
chuckled the old man in the library
Great Scott! They'll kill each other
yet! Here, you young hounds!" he
yelled. rushing out into the hall. You
pick yourself up and get out of this.
If you've got to fight, you go out be-
hind the barn and fight till one or the
other of you gets killed. Look out
there, Dick!"
Dick had his brother down and was
sitting on him. He had just raised his
arm to administer good blow on the
upturned face of Bert when his father
caught his arm and dragged him off.
Bert did not take the trouble to get
up, but lay fat on his back, looking up
at his brother with wicked one sided
grin.
Get up, Bert ordered his father
and he shuftied to his feet. Very sud
denly Mr.. Barton's patience gave out.
Catching Bert by the collar and retain
ing his grip ON Dicks arm, he shook
both boys until his face grew purple,
and, letting them go. he leaned against
the banisters gasping for breath. The
boys made no attempt to resist; they
merely grew utterly limp. They were
twins, about seventeen, and small for
their age, with fair hair and dreamy
gray eyes. All of the mischief perpe-
trated in the particular suburb in
tracked to their door or to the doors of
their innocent accomplices. They had
one redeeming feature; until a few
months before this they had chung to-
gether through thick and thin. When
one was punished the other was punish
ed before the rest of the family could
live with him. 1t seemed, sometimes,
to their anguished parents as if the
twins could read each others mind.
/ While their mother was alive she had
been able to control them to some eX-
tent, and her last words were, '.Keep
the twins together" At that time they
We're so thick ga knife blade couldn't
be slid between them," as Mr.. Barton
remarked. But that was some time
ago. Now
I'm ashamed of you,' he said wea-
rily and went back into his library,
leaving the twins glazing at each other.
Presently they began to look sheepish,
and then they grinned and stuck out
their hands at the same time The ar
gUment was understood to be closed
for the present.
Mr.. Barton watched them go down
the street together, arm in arm, and
gave a sigh of relief. He knew he
would have an hour or two of peace.
While he stood musing at the win
dow his little daughter Bess and her
governess came around the corner and
in at the gate.
There's the bone of contention now,''
he said. what does she mean by en-
couraging those young whelps to fall
in love with herr"
His daughter Bess bounced into the
i tn,
Letter from Bob" she whooped.
Hurry up and read 'er!"
Quietly, Bessie" said Miss Gray,
who had entered behind the little girl
"When you have finished visiting will
your father, come upstairs and l will
help you with your French for tomor-
row."
Mr.. Barton took Bess on his knee
and opened his letter. 1t was charac
teristic. He was out in Colorado "see
ing the world" and having the time OF
his life;" was well and happy anG
ready to come home at any time; love
to Bcss and the boys and his regards
to the young lady who had succeeded
in making individuals out of the STA
mese twins"
Bess ran away presently, and Mr.
Barton let his thoughts wander out tt
his eldest son. Bob had been gradu
ated from Harvard the summer before
and had come home little more en-
thusiastic about Boston than he should
have been, knowing his fathers preju
dice against the place. The very frs
thing he had done on his arrival home
was to announce his engagement to {
girl from Boston.
Now, it had never entered Mr. Bar
toms head that Bob could be such &
fool as to fall in love at twenty three
and the cool announcement took away
his breath
"Huh!' he snorted "You precocou.
baby! Pretty husband you'd make
wouldn't you? Bessie's rag dolls could
marry and be about as dignitied as
you'd be in such fix"
Bob merely grinned and turned
away the edge of the old mans wrath.
cit isn't because l think you would