eyes. He did not move. She paused beside
him, and slipped her hand under his elbow.

"Now, father," she said gaily, "we must put our heads together, and
think out a proper punishment for the awful creatures."

Her hand was uplifting, and Mr. Starr rose with it. Together they left
the room with cordial good nights, and inviting Mr. Babler to "try the
parsonage again." Prudence listened outside the twins' door, and heard
them breathing loudly. Then she went to her own room, and snuggling
down beneath the covers, laughed softly to herself.

"Etiquette!" she gurgled. "Etiquette! There's no room for such a
thing in a parsonage,--I see that!"

It speaks well for the courage of Babbie, and the attractions of Fairy,
that he came to the parsonage again and again. In time he became the
best of friends with the twins themselves, but he always called them
"the adorables," and they never asked him why. The punishment
inflicted upon them by Prudence rankled in their memories for many
months. Indeed, upon that occasion, Prudence fairly surpassed herself
in the ingenuity she displayed. The twins considered themselves very
nearly as grown-up as Fairy, and the fact that she was a young lady,
and they were children, filled their hearts with bitterness. They
never lost an opportunity of showing their independence where she was
concerned. And with marvelous insight, Prudence used Fairy as her
weapon of punishment,--in fact, the twins called Fairy the
"ducking-stool" for many days.

"The offense was against Fairy," said Prudence, with a solemnity she
did not feel, "and the reparation must be done to her. For three
weeks, you must do all of her bedroom work, and run every errand she
requires. Moreover, you must keep her shoes well cleaned and nicely
polished, and must do every bit of her darning!"

The twins would have preferred whipping a thousand times. They felt
they had got a whipping's worth of pleasure out of their mischief! But
a punishment like this sat heavily upon their proud young shoulders,
and from that time on they held Fairy practically immune from their
pranks.

But Prudence did not bother her head about etiquette after that
experience. "I'm strong for comfort," she declared, "and since the two
can not live together in our family, I say we do without etiquette."

And Fairy nodded in agreement, smiling good-naturedly.

CHAPTER VIII

THE FIRST DARK SHADOW OF WINTER

Prudence and Fairy stood