Christmas came, and with it the joys of long holidays and home. The
Twins had a particularly good time, for Auntie Mogs, Mrs. Ladd, and Mrs.
Hillis all entertained for them, and Mr. Keith, Donald's father, gave
them a marvelous party.
They found Chuck very much changed and inclined to be superior, but it
was not long before he was back on his old footing with the Twins,
showing a marked preference as always for Phyllis.
The last four days of the vacation were spent at Major Harrison's, Ann's
uncle, who had surpassed all expectations by inviting Gladys and Prue,
the Twins, and Daphne and Sally to stay with his niece for the entire
three weeks.
They had all accepted for the last four days, and glorious days they had
been. There were horses to ride, dogs to play with, and for Janet the
library of her dreams.
Major Harrison, a taciturn old gentleman, had been very gruff at first,
but towards the end of their visit he had sought out their
companionship, and seemed to enjoy their good times as much as they did.
Janet was his especial pet. He rode with her, and together they visited
the kennels each morning; and when Janet showed her skill in caring for
a sick puppy, he had been so pleased that he had given the little
brown-and-white ball to her. She had accepted the gift delightedly, but
it was understood that the dog should stay at Glenside, for her own Boru
would not welcome a rival in New York, and she could not keep him at
Hilltop.
They had great fun at the christening, when the puppy was duly named
Janet and recorded in the club annals.
After Christmas came the long term at school. But Easter was early, and
thanks to the beautiful weather that came soon after the first of the
year, the girls did not feel the usual mid-year strain.
When this chapter opens, Spring was in full sway at Hilltop. The great
bushes of lilac that fringed the lawn were ready to blossom, and
everywhere spring flowers added their brilliance to the deep blue and
white of the sky.
Sports Week was in progress. Basket Ball Day had come and gone, leaving
a victory to the new wing. The relay races had been run the day before,
another victory for them.
Only Archery and Tennis remained, and unless the old wing won both they
would be beaten at sports.
"I don't care as much about tennis as I do about archery," called Sally
as they dressed that morning. All the doors were open and the remarks
floated from room to room.
"Oh, I do, as a point, if nothing else," Ann called back from the end of
the hall.
"Do me up, somebody," she added, as she struggled with a refractory
button at the back of her white linen dress.
"If the new wing wins points in sports this year, I am not coming back,"
Gladys announced. "Here, Ann, turn 'round and stand still, I'll do you
up. Think how awful it would be to have the Red Twins gloating all next
term," she added. "I simply couldn't stand it."
"Who plays them in the finals in doubles?" Prue asked.
"We do," Phyllis answered. "We played off yesterday, and, and of course
they had to beat Poppy and Helen."
"Cheeky of them, I call it," Gladys commented.
"Oh, well, if you are up against them, we don't need to worry. How's
your game?" Prue had never held a racket in her hand, but she always
spoke in tennis terms.
"Very bad, thank you, Prue," Janet informed her. "I twisted my wrist
yesterday, playing against Kitty and Louise, and Phyl hurt her foot."
"I suppose the Red Twins are in high feather then. How they love an
advantage!" Sally said crossly.
"Well, they don't happen to know about this one?" Janet replied. "I have
kept mighty still about it. My hand goes behind my back when I see any
of the faculty, so they won't notice the adhesive plaster on my wrist."
"Is it as bad a sprain as that?" Daphne inquired.
"Yes, it's terrifically painful," Janet replied. "I can't see how I am
going to manage," she added in a much louder voice than was necessary to
carry across the hall.
"Who was that?" Gladys exclaimed suddenly. She was dressing in the
corridor as well as in her own room.
Janet went to her door, and stood smiling after a retreating figure that
was hurrying softly down the stairs.
"Hush, Glad, don't spoil my party," she said laughing. "That was Ethel
Rivers, over scouting for the Red Twins. I saw her reflection in my
mirror, so I gave her what news I could."
"But why tell her how sore your arm is? The Red Twins will gloat," Prue
protested.
"Wait and see," Janet replied.
And the Red Twins did gloat. They even asked the Twins if they would
like a handicap. Janet did the refusing in such a way, that it left them
perfectly sure that she would have gladly taken it, had it been
possible.
"What are you up to, Janet dear?" demanded Daphne, who had heard the
conversation.
"A rather mean trick, Taffy," Janet admitted, "but I can't help it. They
are so funny when they are sure of themselves. Do look at May
condescending to Phyl. On my word I do believe she is giving her
points."
Daphne took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Jan, tell me the truth.
How much of a chance have the Red Twins?" she demanded.
"Not a chance in the world," Janet replied calmly.
And Daphne went back to the eager group of girls who were crowding for
places near the court, and smiled her sweet dreamy smile in response to
all the new wing girls' boasts.
The match began. Gwen and Stella Richardson played off the finals in
singles, and after a hard fought fight, Gwen won.
"She has a back hand stroke that is a perfect whiz," Phyllis exclaimed
admiringly. "Wish I could get it!"
"Oh, well played, Gwen, well played!" Janet called as flushed but
triumphant Gwen left the court.
"Well fought!" Sally called as Stella followed her. She was smiling
broadly.
"I'd hate to be beaten by any other girl, but it's a positive honor to
be beaten by Gwen," she said good-naturedly.
"All right, you girls, already for the finals in doubles." Gwen blew her
silver whistle. She was once more captain of sports.
The two sets of twins took their places.
"Awfully sorry about your arm!" Bess said with patronizing kindness as
she passed Janet.
Janet nodded her thanks. Her arm did hurt, in spite of the way she had
joked about it, and she could not help thinking of the Archery contest
next day. She looked ruefully at her bandaged wrist as she took her
place.
The Red Twins served first. Bess sent a tricky drop to Phyllis but her
racket was waiting for it and she sent it back, just dribbling it over
the net.
The old wing shouted with delight, and Bess stormed.
"Why don't you stand into the net? You know that's one of her tricks,"
she said angrily.
"Oh, keep still," May muttered.
"Love--15," Gwen called.
With more feeling of assurance, Bess served again. This time to Janet.
She chanced the first ball and tried a new cut. It fell the wrong side
of the net, but she tossed up the second undaunted.
Janet ran forward to meet it, and sent it back easily, to the extreme
right hand corner of the court.
"Oh, pretty place!" Sally applauded from the side lines.
The Red Twins lost the first game of their serve and the second fell
before Phyllis' smashing delivery. They won the third and fourth.
The twins had an easy time with the fifth and sixth. Bess and May were
quarreling so that they were easy victims before Phyllis and Janet's
perfect team-work.
After the first set, the result of the match was a certainty. They
stopped after the fourth game and were received with salvos of applause.
Janet swayed a little as she walked off the court. Her wrist was sending
blinding pains up her arm and she could not wait to tear off the strip
of adhesive plaster that bound it so cruelly.
Sally and Daphne noticed her pallor and went to her.
"Get me a drink, will you, Taffy?" Janet said, weakly sitting down on
the bench in a sudden fit of awful weakness.
She pulled off the bandage and disclosed an angry red swelling.
"Oh, Jane, and we thought your wrist was all a joke!" Sally exclaimed.
"How awful, and archery--"
"Don't," Janet said swiftly. "If you remind me of it, I'll weep."
Phyllis meanwhile was talking to the Red Twins.
"I can't see why we lost," Bess said stubbornly. "We are better players
than you are, and you know it."
[Illustration: _She pulled off the bandage and disclosed an angry red
swelling_]
"Of course you are," Phyllis agreed, "much better, but you have no
notion of team-work. You both want to do it all, and get all the credit.
I can't see why you are twins. The way Jan and I feel, it amounts to the
same thing, as long as _we_ do it. That's because we are twins, I
suppose."
"Well, it's because _we_ are twins that we can't get along together,"
May explained. "We don't want the other one to get ahead, and it's
natural that we shouldn't," she added in justification.
"It's not natural," Phyllis contradicted; "and let me tell you this,
until you learn to work together, you will never be any earthly good to
each other or to Hilltop."
Having given them this little thought to think over during the summer,
Phyllis turned her back on them and went over to Janet.