Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-04-25
CHAPTER Ix-continued.


Eyes, he wanted to. But Prudence
has set her heart on coming home She
says she'll never feel that Jerry Junior
got the proper start If it happens any
place else. They'll have a trained
nurse"
"Jerry-what?" gasped the twins,
after short silence due to amazement.
"Jerry Junior-that's what they call
1t"
But how on earth do they known
''They don't know. But they have to
call it something. haven't they? And
they want a Jerry Junior. So of
course they'll get it. For Prudence
rs good enough to get whatever she
wants"
"Hum, that's no sign" shifted Carol.
sT don't get everything want, do ~
The girls laughed, from habit, not
from genuine interest, at Carols subtle
tnsinuation.
swell, shall we have her Gomez"
"Yes," said Carol, "but you tell Prue
she needn't expect me to hold it until
1t gets too big to wiggle. call them
nasty, treacherous little things. Mrs.
Miller made me hold hers, and 1t
lsquirmed right Off my knee. wanted
TO spank it."
"And tell Prudence to uphold the
parsonage and have white one"
added Lark. 'These little Indian eff
6ects don't make hit with me-
"Are you going to tell CONNER"
~ don't think so-yet. Comics only
f.urteen."
'You tell her" Carols voice was
emphatic. There's nothing mysteri-
.ous about 1t. Everybody does it. And
Connie may have few suggestions of
her own to offer. You tell Prue Pm
thinking out lot of good advice for
her, and"
"You must write her yourselves. She
wanted US to tell you long before .
Fairy picked up the little embroidered
dress and kissed it, but her fond eyes
were anxious.
So, few weeks later, weeks crowd
ed full of tumult and anxiety yes, and
laughter, too. Prudence and Jerry came
to Mount Mark and settled down TO
quiet life in the parsonage. The girls
kissed Prudence very often, leaped
quickly to do her errands, and touched
her with nervous fingers. But mostly
they sat across the room and regarded
her curiously, shyly, quite materially.
"Carol and Lark Starr" Prudence
cried GROSSLY one day. when she inter-
icepted one of these surreptllious
iglances, ''you march right upstairs and
shut yourselves up ror thirty minutes.
And if you ever sit around and stare
lat me like a stranger again, I'll spank
you both. I'm no outsider. I belong
here just as much as ever did And
I'm still the head of things around
here, too"
The twins obed;ently marched, and
after that Prudence was more like Pru-
fdence, and the twins were much more
twinnish, SO that life was very nearly
normal in the old parsonage. Prudence
said she couldn't feel quite satisfied
because the twins were too old to be
punished, but she often scolded them
in her gentle, teasing way, and the
twins enjoyed 1t more than anything
else that happened during those days
of quiet.
Then came a night when the four
sisters huddled breatal.ssly in the
kitchen, and Aunt Grace and the
trained nurse stayed behind with Pru-
dence behind the closed door of the
front room upstairs. And the doctor
went In, too, after he had inflicted a
few light-hearted remarks upon the
two men in the little library.
After that-silence, an immense
hushing silence-settled down over the
parsonage. Jerry and Mr.. Starr, alone
In the library, where faint odor Of
drugs, anesthetics, something that
smelled like hospitals fingered, stared
away from each other with persistent
determination.
"Where are the girls?" Jerry asked,
picking up roll of cotton which had
been left ON the library table, and
f1inging it from him as though it
scorched his fingers.
@T-think I'll go and see" said Mr..
Starr, turning heavily.
Jerry hesitated minute. 'T-think
TIL go along" he said.
For an instant their eyes met, SYM
patheticalIy, and did not smile though
their lips curved.
Down in the kitchen, meanwhile,
Fairy sat somberly beside the table
with pile of darning which she
1abbed at viciously with the needle.
Lark was perched on the ice chest, but
Carol, true to her childish instincts.