At supper-time Fairy returned, and the twins, their eyes bright with the unholy light of mischief, never looked at her. They sometimes looked heavenward with a sublime contentment that drove Connie nearly frantic.
Occasionally they uttered cryptic words about the morrow,--and the older members of the family smiled pleasantly, but Connie shuddered.
She remembered so many April Fool"s Days.
The family usually clung together on occasions of this kind, feeling there was safety and sympathy in numbers--as so many cowards have felt for lo, these many years. And thus it happened that they were all in the dining-room when their father appeared at the door. He had his hands behind him suggestively.
"Twins," he said, without preamble, "what do you want more than anything else?"
"Silk stockings," was the prompt and unanimous answer.
He laughed. "Good guess, wasn"t it?" And tossed into their eager hands two slender boxes, nicely wrapped. The others gathered about them with smiling eyes as the twins tremulously tore off the wrappings.
"A. Phoole"s Pure Silk Thread Hose,--Guaranteed!" This they read from the box--neat golden lettering. It was enough for the twins. With cries of perfect bliss they flung themselves upon their father, kissing him rapturously wherever their lips might touch.
"Oh, papa!" "Oh, you darling!" And then, when they had some sort of control of their joy, Lark said solemnly, "Papa, it is a gift from Heaven!"
"Of course, we give you the credit, papa," Carol amended quickly, "but the thought was Heaven-prompted."
Fairy choked suddenly, and her fit of coughing interfered with the twins" grat.i.tude to an all-suggesting Providence!
Carol twisted her box nervously. "You know, papa, it may seem very childish, and--silly to you, but--actually--we have--well, prayed for silk stockings. We didn"t honestly expect to get them, though--not until we saved up money enough to get them ourselves. Heaven is kinder to us than we--"
"You can"t understand such things, papa," said Lark. "Maybe you don"t know exactly how--how they feel. When we go to Betty Hill"s we wear her silk stockings and lie on the bed--and--she won"t let us walk in them, for fear we may wear holes. Every girl in our cla.s.s has at least one pair,--Betty has three, but one pair"s holey, and--we felt so awfully poor!"
The smiles on the family faces were rather stereotyped by this time, but the exulting twins did not notice. Lark looked at Carol fondly. Carol sighed at Lark blissfully. Then, with one accord, they lifted the covers from the boxes and drew out the shimmering hose. Yes,--shimmering--but--they shook them out for inspection!
Their faces paled a little.
"They--they are very--" began Carol courageously. Then she stopped.
The hose were a fine tissue-paper imitation of silk stockings! The "April Fool, little twins," on the toes was not necessary for their enlightenment. They looked at their father with sad but unresentful reproach in their swiftly shadowed eyes.
"It--it"s a good joke," stammered Carol, moistening her dry lips with her tongue.
"It"s--one on us," blurted Lark promptly.
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed Carol, slowly, dryly, very dully.
"Yes--ha, ha, ha," echoed Lark, placing the bitter fruit carefully back in its box. Her fingers actually trembled.
"It"s a--swell joke, all right," Carol said, "we see that well enough,--we"re not stupid, you know. But we did want some silk stockings so--awfully bad. But it"s funny, ha, ha, ha!"
"A gift from Heaven!" muttered Lark, with clenched teeth. "Well, you got us that time."
"Come on, Lark, we must put them sacredly away--Silk stockings, you know, are mighty scarce in a parsonage,--"
"Yes, ha, ha, ha," and the crushed and broken twins left the room, with dignity in spite of the blow.
The family did not enjoy the joke on the twins.
Mr. Starr looked at the others with all a man"s confused incomprehension of a woman"s notions! He spread out his hands--an orthodox, ministerial gesture!
"Now, will some one kindly tell me what there is in silk stockings, to--" He shook his head helplessly. "Silk stockings! A gift from Heaven!" He smiled, unmerrily. "The poor little kids!" Then he left the room.
Aunt Grace openly wiped her eyes, smiling at herself as she did so.
Fairy opened and closed her lips several times. Then she spoke. "Say, Prue, knock me down and sit on me, will you? Whatever made me think of such a stupid trick as that?"
"Why, bless their little hearts," whispered Prudence, sniffing. "Didn"t they look sorry? But they were so determined to be game."
"Prudence, give me my eight cents," demanded Connie. "I want it right away."
"What do you want it for?"
"I"m going down to Morrow"s and get some candy. I never saw a meaner trick in my life! I"m surprised at papa. The twins only play jokes for fun." And Connie stalked grimly out of the parsonage and off toward town.
A more abashed and downcast pair of twins probably never lived. They sat thoughtfully in their room, "A. Phoole"s Silk Thread Hose" carefully hidden from their hurt eyes.
"It was a good joke," Lark said, now and then.
"Yes, very," a.s.sented Carol. "But silk stockings, Larkie!"
And Lark squirmed wretchedly. "A gift from Heaven," she mourned. "How they must be laughing!"
But they did not laugh.
Connie came back and shared her candy. They thanked her courteously and invited her to sit down. Then they all ate candy and grieved together silently. They did not speak of the morning"s disaster, but the twins understood and appreciated the tender sympathy of her att.i.tude, and although they said nothing, they looked at her very kindly and Connie was well content.
The morning pa.s.sed drearily. The twins had lost all relish for their well-planned tricks, and the others, down-stairs, found the usually wild and hilarious day almost unbearably poky. Prudence"s voice was gentle as she called them down to dinner, and the twins, determined not to show the white feather, went down at once and took their places. They bore their trouble bravely, but their eyes had the surprised and stricken look, and their faces were nearly old. Mr. Starr cut the blessing short, and the dinner was eaten in silence. The twins tried to start the conversation. They talked of the weather with pa.s.sionate devotion. They discussed their studies with an almost unbelievable enthusiasm. They even referred, with stiff smiles, to "papa"s good joke," and then laughed their dreary "ha, ha, ha," until their father wanted to fall upon his knees and beg forgiveness.
Connie, still solicitous, helped them wash the dishes. The others disappeared. Fairy got her hat and went out without a word. Their father followed scarcely a block behind her. Aunt Grace sought all over the house for Prudence, and finally found her in the attic, comforting herself with a view of the lovely linens which filled her Hope Box.
"I"m going for a walk," announced Aunt Grace briefly.
"All right," a.s.sented Prudence. "If I"m not here when you get back, don"t worry. I"m going for a walk myself."
Their work done irreproachably, the twins and Connie went to the haymow and lay on the hay, still silent. The twins, buoyant though they were, could not so quickly recover from a shock like this. So intent were they upon the shadows among the cobwebs that they heard no sound from below until their father"s head appeared at the top of the ladder.
"Come up," they invited hospitably but seriously.
He did so at once, and stood before them, his face rather flushed, his manner a little constrained, but looking rather satisfied with himself on the whole.
"Twins," he said, "I didn"t know you were so crazy about silk stockings.
We just thought it would be a good joke--but it was a little too good.
It was a boomerang. I don"t know when I"ve felt so contemptible. So I went down and got you some real silk stockings--a dollar and a half a pair,--and I"m glad to clear my conscience so easily."
The twins blushed. "It--it was a good joke, papa," Carol a.s.sured him shyly. "It was a dandy. But--all the girls at school have silk stockings for best, and--we"ve been wanting them--forever. And--honestly, father, I don"t know when I"ve had such a--such a spell of indigestion as when I saw those stockings were April Fool."
"Indigestion," scoffed Connie, restored to normal by her father"s handsome amends.
"Yes, indigestion," declared Lark. "You know, papa, that funny, hollow, hungry feeling--when you get a shock. That"s nervous indigestion,--we read it in a medicine ad. They"ve got pills for it. But it was a good joke. We saw that right at the start."