Warren sheaf., 1917-02-14
mad Whlspl cred nervousl

mad whispered nervously
But the twins had stared her out Of
count tenance, and Connie realized That
/ she had committed a serious breach Of
secret society etiquette.
4 But here was the letter! Fer IN.
gers trembled as she opened 1t. .Itswas
/ decorated lavishly with skulls and
crossbones, splashad with red Ink. sup
posedly blood, and written in the same
suggestive color.
/ Skull and Crossbones, great in mercy
and In condescension, has listened eraci-
Eously tC the prayer OF Constance the
/ Seeker. Hear the will OF the Great Spirit.
/ ~ the Seeker will, for tie length two
weeks, submit herself to the will Of Skull
and Grossbones, she shall be admitted in
70 the Ancient and Honorable Order.
The week that followed was "a gala
lone for the twins Of Skull and Cross
bones. Constance swept their room.
made their bed, washed their dishes.
lsdid their chores, and in every way be-
haved as a model pledge Of the ancient
md honorable. The twins were gra-
l8eious but firm. There was 40 arguing
and no faltering. ItI is the will of
Skull and Crossbonas that the sdamsel
lido this they would saw. Ana tha
dansel did it.
| Prudence did not feel it was a case
that called for her interference. So
|. she sat back ana wafchad uI,;fa +s,s
twins tela stories, read ana fro1icze1
md Constance did rheil. dai1v tasl-s
A week passed. ten days, and twelve
Then came q golden October aftar,,oon.
when the twins sat in the havroo,y
nn1yi,, q o,,i ! ,,,x;, ~, q
/ STANCE was Iii the ward. reading s 4;lllry
story. The situation was j rense one
flor the twins were hungry. and time
was heavy on their hands.
''Tie apple trees in Ayery,s orcha rd
are just loaded said Lark. ..And
| there are lots on the ground. foo I
saw them when + was out in tha fold
| this morning.
Carol gazed down into the ward
| where Constance was absorbed in her
book. Constance oughtn't to read as
much as she does,,' she argued. sIf's
so bad for the eyes,,
Eyes, and what's more. she's heen
getting off too easy for fbe Jsst farp
days. The time is nearly pn.,,
ssThat's So, said Lark ssT,et,s cal,
her IN here, rTbis wos do,,a a. a,aa
and the unfortunate Constance STOOD
before them resnecffr11v . 3 +,ou 1,d
Instructed her. to stand. The twins
hesitated, each secretly hoping the;
other would voice the order. But Lark.
as usual, was obliged to be the spokes.
man.
sDamsel,'' she said, "it is the will of
Skull and Crossbones that you HE ye5
to yonder orchard Ayery's ID mean
and bring hither some of the golden
apples basking in the SUM-
'sWhat!' calculated Connie. startled
out of her respect,
Carol .froWned.
Connie hastened Ia n,of3;fy ha, tona
did they say you might have then, .,
she inquired politely.
That concerns thee not: Ills For r1,ea
FOllly u render ODeQIGDCe5 to the orders
of the Society. Go out through our
I field and sneak under the fence Whsre
the wires are loose, and hurry back.
We're aWfully hungry. The trees are
near the fence. There isn't .any dan.
ger
ssBut it's stealing. ohiactad rnnnio
what will Prudence,
.sDamseIi'' And Connie t,rnad -
obey with despair in Der heart
ssBring twelve" Carol cal1ad sfta,
her, sthat,ll be four aniace# And h,,rrv
Connie. And see they don,t catch Won
while you're about IT.,
After she had zone tha 4.u,;nss g. 1a1,
back thoughtfullv on Tho hasT1 a.nd .dd
stared at. the cobWSebbv roof above
thena ia silence For. ], x,,l,;1e so,,,at7,;-,
was hurting them h,,t vf,ethar 4 1vs :
their fear Of tho wratb of prudonca 1
or the twingas @of ta1 dar conso;ancas 1,s-
who can say
aShe,s an, 1,naart,,1v = Ion J, .t;ro : i ! III