The Terrible Twins   By: Edgar Jepson (1863-1938)

THE TERRIBLE TWINS

By

EDGAR JEPSON

Author of

The Admirable Tinker, Pollyooly, etc.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY

HANSON BOOTH

INDIANAPOLIS

THE BOBBS MERRILL COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

COPYRIGHT 1913

THE BOBBS MERRILL COMPANY

[Updater's note: In the originally posted version of this book (August 14, 2006), four pages (3, 4, 53, 54) were missing. In early February 2008, the missing pages were found, scanned and submitted by a reader of the original etext and incorporated into this updated version.]

CONTENTS

Chapter

I AND CAPTAIN BASTER II GUARDIAN ANGELS III AND THE CATS' HOME IV AND THE VISIT OF INSPECTION V AND THE SACRED BIRD VI AND THE LANDED PROPRIETOR VII AND PRINGLE'S POND VIII AND THE MUTTLE DEEPING PEACHES IX AND THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM X AND THE ENTERTAINMENT OF ROYALTY XI AND THE UNREST CURE XII AND THE MUTTLE DEEPING FISHING XIII AND AN APOLOGY XIV AND THE SOUND OF WEDDING BELLS

ILLUSTRATIONS

"Cats for the cats' home!" said Sir Maurice Falconer. . . . . . Frontispiece

"This is different," she said.

We are avenged.

She was almost sorry when they came at last to the foot of the knoll.

The Archduke bellowed, "Zerbst! Zerbst! Zerbst!"

Sir James turned and found himself looking into the deep brown eyes of a very pretty woman.

THE TERRIBLE TWINS

CHAPTER I

AND CAPTAIN BASTER

For all that their voices rang high and hot, the Twins were really discussing the question who had hit Stubb's bull terrier with the greatest number of stones, in the most amicable spirit. It was indeed a nice question and hard to decide since both of them could throw stones quicker, straighter and harder than any one of their size and weight for miles and miles round; and they had thrown some fifty at the bull terrier before they had convinced that dense, but irritated, quadruped that his master's interests did not really demand his presence in the orchard; and of these some thirty had hit him. Violet Anastasia Dangerfield, who always took the most favorable view of her experience, claimed twenty hits out of a possible thirty; Hyacinth Wolfram Dangerfield, in a very proper spirit, had at once claimed the same number; and both of them were defending their claims with loud vehemence, because if you were not loudly vehement, your claim lapsed.

Suddenly Hyacinth Wolfram, as usual, closed the discussion; he said firmly, "I tell you what: we both hit that dog the same number of times."

So saying, he swung round the rude calico bag, bulging with booty, which hung from his shoulders, and took from it two Ribston pippins.

"Perhaps we did," said Anastasia amiably. They went swiftly down the road, munching in a peaceful silence.

It had been an odd whim of nature to make the Twins so utterly unlike. No stranger ever took Violet Anastasia Dangerfield, so dark eyed, dark haired, dark skinned, of so rich a coloring, so changeful and piquant a face, for the cousin, much less for the twin sister, of Hyacinth Wolfram Dangerfield, so fair skinned, fair haired, blue eyed, on whose firmly chiseled features rested so perpetual, so contrasting a serenity. But it was a whim of man, of their wicked uncle Sir Maurice Falconer, that had robbed them of their pretty names. He had named Violet "Erebus" because, he said,

She walks in beauty like the night Of cloudless climes and starry spheres:

and he had forthwith named Hyacinth the "Terror" because, he said, the ill fated Sir John Franklin had made the Terror the eternal companion of Erebus.

Erebus and the Terror they became. Even their mother never called them by their proper pretty names save in moments of the severest displeasure.