Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-02-08
CHAPTER discontinued.
~

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 trained
nurse"
"Jerry-what?" gasped the twins,
after a short silence due to amazement.
Jerry Junior-that's what they call
It,"
"But how on earth do they know"
"They don't know. But they have to
call it something, haven't they? And
they want Jerry Junior. So of
course they'll get it. For Prudence
is good enough to get whatever She
wants"
"Hum, that's no sign" shifted Carol.
~ don't get everything I want, do II"
The girls laughed, from habit, not
inSinuation.
"Well, shall we have her come"
EYES," said Carol, "but you tell Prue
she needn't expect me to hold it until
1t gets too big to wiggle. I call them
nasty. treacherous little things. Mrs,
Miller made me hold hers, and it
squirmed right off my knee. wanted
to spank it."
"And tell Prudence to uphold the
parsonage and have a white one"
added Lark. "These little Indian eff
fects don't make hit with me-"
"Are you going to tell COnne?"
81 don't think so-yet. Comics only
urteen."
"You tell her" Carols voice was
emphatic. "Thcre's nothing mysteri-
Gus about it. Everybody does it. And
Connie may have a few suggestions of
her own to offer. You tell Prue Pm
thinking out q 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 ri Is
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-
cepted one of these surreptitious
chances, you march right upstairs and
shut yourselves up for thirty minutes.
And if you ever sit around and stare
at me like a stranger again, I'll spank
YOU both I'm no outsider. I belong
here lust as much as ever / did. And
I'm still the head of things around
here, toe"
The twins obediently marched, and
after that Prudence was more like Pru-
dence, 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 it more than anything
else that happened during those days
of quiet.
Then came night when the four
sisters huddled breatllLsSly 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 a roll of cotton which had
been left on the library table, and
ninging it from him as though it
scOrchcd his fingers.
I--thlnk I'll go and see" said Mr..
Starr, turning heavily.
Jerry hestated Il minute. "1-think
I'll go along" he said.
For an instant their eyes met, sym
pathetically, and did not smile though
their lips curved.
Down in the kitchen, meanwhile,
Fairy sat somberly beside the table
with a pile of darning which she
jabbed at viciously with the needle.
Lark was perched on the ice chest, but
Carol, true to her childish instincts,