CHAPTER IX--A Question of Names
"May and Bess are to be in the new wing," Miss Hull said. "Will yougirls take them upstairs when you are going up with Daphne and find someof the girls on their corridor. Alice and Kitty will take good care ofthem, I am sure. Mrs. Hillis and I are going to have a little chat untildinner."
She dismissed the girls with a nod. Sally turned to Bess Ward.
"Will you come along?" she said, "and we'll find Alice and Kitty."
"Are you two going to room together?" Phyllis inquired.
Janet was walking with Daphne. She had gotten as far away as possiblefrom the new twins, for she instinctively disliked them on sight.
"I should say we're not," Bess, the fatter of the two, replied. "May andI were figuring to see as little of each other as possible."
"But why?" Phyllis demanded, surprised.
"Reckon we're not dying of love for each other," May explained calmly."You being a twin could understand, I guess."
"We can't understand any such thing," Janet suddenly flared up.
They were on the stairs and they all stopped to turn and look at her.
"Phyl never wants to be away from me," she continued, her cheeks hot inanger.
"I don't hear Phyl agreein' with you," May remarked.
It was Phyllis's turn to be angry. The color left her cheeks and hereyes flashed dangerously.
"No need of my saying anything for people to know that I agree with mytwin," she said coldly. "We always agree on every subject," and shewalked upstairs the rest of the way in silence with her head up in theair.
The new twins exchanged glances.
"What did you say anything for?" Bess asked sulkily.
"Oh, keep still," May replied.
When they reached the new wing, Sally was glad to turn them over toKitty and Alice. The news had circulated that there were to be twins forthe new wing, and the girls had collected to welcome them. It is onlytruthful to say that their faces fell at the first glance. BesidePhyllis and Janet, the new twins did not show promise of adding greatlyto the new wing.
"Phew! I'm glad that's over!" Sally sat down on her bed and pulledDaphne down beside her.
Phyllis sat in a big chair and Janet perched on the arm of her chair.
"They haven't any right to be twins," Daphne's drawl held a note ofdecision, "and they really don't look alike either."
"They're perfectly horrid," Janet replied vehemently.
"I wish they'd leave Hilltop," Phyllis added.
Sally said nothing for the moment, but she looked very wise.
"A penny for your thoughts, Sally," Phyllis offered.
Sally came back from her dreaming with a little start.
"I was only wondering what they'd be like in six months," she saidslowly.
"Horrid," said Janet without a moment's hesitation.
Sally smiled. "That's how little you know of Hilltop," she said.
"Oh, who cares what they're like!" Phyllis laughed. "They're in the newwing and we're in the old. All that matters is that Daphne's here, andwe four are together again."
Daphne gave a queer little laugh.
"It's pretty wonderful," she admitted, "to find you all just the same. Iwas afraid that perhaps Sally had found a new pal, and that perhaps youtwo have discovered some other girls. It rather worried me."
The rest laughed, and Janet said:
"Taffy, my darling, you were growing an imagination. You kill it beforeit becomes dangerous."
Snatches of a song came to them from the hall and Sally jumped up andran to the door.
"Come in, you three," she called.
Prue, Ann and Gladys entered.
"We thought we would let you have the first few minutes in peace," Pruebegan, but Ann went straight to Daphne and held out her hand.
"You're the very princess come to life," she said. "And we're awfullyglad to welcome you at Hilltop."
"We thought Janet was making you up," Gladys added, "but we see shewasn't." She smiled her roguish smile at Daphne.
"Indeed, we are glad to welcome you to Hilltop," Prue held out her hand,"and specially glad for the old wing."
"We've been looking over the new twins and I can't say that they arevery exciting. All they did was to scrap," Ann remarked.
"Oh, dear!" Phyllis sighed. "I suppose now they'll be the new twins, andwe'll be the old twins."
Gladys looked at her and shook her head very slowly.
"They will not," she said emphatically. "For I have already named themthe Red Twins, and Red Twins they shall be," she ended triumphantly.
She was right. The girls had always followed her lead, and they followedit faithfully in the naming of the Red Twins, and Janet and Phyllis, tothe old wing's secret satisfaction, remained always The Twins.
The Twins in the South Page 9