Carol blushed a little. "I was," she a.s.sented, "but there isn"t any war."
"Well," even in triumph, Connie was imperturbable, "there isn"t any father for my eleven children either."
The twins had to admit that this was an obstacle, and they yielded gracefully.
"But an author, Connie," said Lark. "It"s very hard. I gave it up long ago."
"I know you did. But I don"t give up very easily."
"You gave up your eleven children."
"Oh, I"ve plenty of time for them yet, when I find a father for them.
Yes, I"m going to be an author."
"Can you write?"
"Of course I can write."
"Well, you have conceit enough to be anything," said Carol frankly.
"Maybe you"ll make it go, after all. I should like to have an author in the family and since Lark"s lost interest, I suppose it will have to be you. I couldn"t think of risking my complexion at such a precarious livelihood. But if you get stuck, I"ll be glad to help you out a little.
I really have an imagination myself, though perhaps you wouldn"t think it."
"What makes you think you can write, Con?" inquired Lark, with genuine interest.
"I have already done it."
"Was it any good?"
"It was fine."
Carol and Lark smiled at each other.
"Yes," said Carol, "she has the long-haired instinct. I see it now. They always say it is fine. Was it a masterpiece, Connie?" And when Connie hesitated, she urged, "Come on, confess it. Then we shall be convinced that you have found your field. They are always masterpieces. Was yours?"
"Well, considering my youth and inexperience, it was," Connie admitted, her eyes sparkling appreciatively. Carol"s wit was no longer lost upon her, at any rate.
"Bring it out. Let"s see it. I"ve never met a masterpiece yet,--except a dead one," said Lark.
"No--no," Connie backed up quickly. "You can"t see it, and--don"t ask any more about it. Has father gone out?"
The twins stared at her again. "What"s the matter with you?"
"Nothing, but it"s my story and you can"t see it. That settles it. Was there any mail to-day?"
Afterward the twins talked it over together.
"What made her back down like that?" Carol wondered. "Just when we had her going."
"Why, didn"t you catch on to that? She has sent it off to a magazine, of course, and she doesn"t want us to know about it. I saw through it right away."
Carol looked at her twin with new interest. "Did you ever send "em off?"
Lark flushed a little. "Yes, I did, and always got "em back, too--worse luck. That"s why I gave it up."
"What did you do with them when they came back?"
"Burned them. They always burn them. Connie"ll get hers back, and she"ll burn it, too," was the laconic answer.
"An author," mused Carol. "Do you think she"ll ever make it?"
"Well, honestly, I shouldn"t be surprised if she did. Connie"s smart, and she never gives up. Then she has a way of saying things that--well, it takes. I really believe she"ll make it, if she doesn"t get off on suffrage or some other queer thing before she gets to it."
"I"ll have to keep an eye on her," said Carol.
"You wait until she can"t eat a meal, and then you"ll know she"s got it back. Many"s the time Prudence made me take medicine, just because I got a story back. Prudence thought it was tummy-ache. The symptoms are a good bit the same."
So Carol watched, and sure enough, there came a day when the bright light of hope in Connie"s eyes gave way to the sober sadness of certainty. Her light had failed. And she couldn"t eat her dinner.
Lark kicked Carol"s foot under the table, and the two exchanged amused glances.
"Connie"s not well," said Lark with a worried air. "She isn"t eating a thing. You"d better give her a dose of that tonic, Aunt Grace. Prudence says the first sign of decay is the time for a tonic. Give her a dose."
Lark solemnly rose and fetched the bottle. Aunt Grace looked at Connie inquiringly. Connie"s face was certainly pale, and her eyes were weary.
And she was not eating her dinner.
"I"m not sick," the crushed young author protested. "I"m just not hungry. You trot that bottle back to the cupboard, Lark, and don"t get gay."
"You can see for yourself," insisted Lark. "Look at her. Isn"t she sick?
Many"s the long illness Prudence staved off for me by a dose of this magic tonic. You"d better make her take it, father. You can see she"s sick." The l.u.s.t of a sweeping family revenge showed in Lark"s clear eyes.
"You"d better take a little, Connie," her father decided. "You don"t look very well to-day."
"But, father," pleaded Connie.
"A dose in time saves a doctor bill," quoted Carol sententiously.
"Prudence says so."
And the aspiring young genius was obliged to swallow the bitter dose.
Then, with the air of one who has rendered a boon to mankind, Lark returned to her chair.
After the meal was over, Carol shadowed Connie closely. Sure enough, she headed straight for her own room, and Carol, close outside, heard a crumpling of paper. She opened the door quickly and went in. Connie turned, startled, a guilty red staining her pale face. Carol sat down sociably on the side of the bed, politely ignoring Connie"s feeble attempt to keep the crumpled ma.n.u.script from her sight. She engaged her sister in a broad-minded and sweeping conversation, adroitly leading it up to the subject of literature. But Connie would not be inveigled into a confession. Then Carol took a wide leap.
"Did you get the story back?"
Connie gazed at her with an awe that was almost superst.i.tious. Then, in relief at having the confidence forced from her, tears brightened her eyes, but being Connie, she winked them stubbornly back.
"I sure did," she said.
"Hard luck," said Carol, in a matter-of-fact voice. "Let"s see it."