They felt the difference in their ages and cla.s.s, and were conscious of a tiny feeling of resentment, not in the girls of the Dramatic Club, but in some of the Juniors who had not been elected.
The curtain rose on time, at exactly eight o"clock. The setting was charming and Phyllis, sure of Janet"s support, accredited herself well.
The ballroom was filled with strange faces, for there were lots of guests, and after the first terrified glance at them, Phyllis kept her eyes on the stage.
By the time the balcony scene came, she was almost calm, and her voice floated clear and mellow as she began-
"He jests at scars who never felt a wound-"
Daphne was a beautiful Juliet, with her soft hair bound down by a fillet of pearls. When she leaned from her balcony to ask-
"What man art thou, who thus bescreened in night so stumbleth on my council?"
The guests caught their breaths from sheer wonder.
Phyllis, perhaps under the witchery of Daphne"s smile, forgot her self-consciousness, and threw herself into the part with the result that she wooed her Juliet with all the ardor of old Verona.
It was a triumph for the Dramatic Club, but for Daphne and Phyllis in particular. They went to their rooms that night with their pretty heads buzzing with all the flattery they had received. But, like the sensible children that they were, they soon dismissed it as unimportant.
"Aren"t you the happiest person in the whole world?" Janet demanded.
"You ought to be."
Phyllis shook her head. "No, I can"t be perfectly happy, for every once in a while I remember that this is our last night, and then I could weep."
"I know, Taffy said the same thing," Janet agreed. "But, Phyl, think of next year. We"ll be old girls then."
Phyllis gave a happy little sigh and snuggled into her pillow.
"Phyl," Janet whispered after a minute, "I-I"m awfully proud of you."
Phyllis leaned over and kissed her.
"There!" she said, "that"s the only compliment I have wanted all evening, and I didn"t think I was going to get it."
They fell asleep almost simultaneously, and the spirit of Hilltop watched their slumbers, equally proud of them both.
CHAPTER XXI-And Last
The twins stood in the Hall waiting for their carriage to come for them.
Sally and Daphne were with them.
"Aunt Jane"s Poll-parrot, how I hate to go!" Sally exclaimed.
"Hasn"t it been a simply perfect year?" Phyllis agreed.
The rest nodded.
"But next year will be even perfecter," Daphne said happily.
"We didn"t make such a bad record," Sally remarked contentedly, knowing full well that no Soph.o.m.ore cla.s.s had ever done as much.
Their eyes traveled to the mantel. The big tennis cup bore Gwen"s name, and under it "The Page Twins." Sally"s name glittered from the smooth surface of the Archery cup, and on the Dramatic Club"s, Phyllis and Daphne"s names stood out.
"How about this summer?" Janet inquired. "You are both surely coming to Old Chester for July aren"t you?"
"We are," Sally and Daphne replied together.
The carriages arrived at that moment, and singing and cheering Hilltop, all the school drove off down the long hill, leaving the white house that crowned it a little forlorn in the drowsy sunshine.
THE END