THE TRVANT TWINS

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 305, 23 December 1903, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE TRVANT TWINS

It was Christmas Eve; not a lovely, cold Christmas Eve, with sparkling frost on the trees and snow on the ground, but a gloomy Christmas Eve, with a thick fog outside, forcing its murky darkness into the house, and making everywhere seem dark and dismal The twins were very downcast. They had been looking forward to Christmas for a very long time, and here they were having a solitary tea in the nursery together, having been banished from the drawing-room for some extraordinary reason some hours before. They couldn't understand it at all There were no visitors, and it was Christmas Eve, It was hard, to say the least of it "It's a nasty, horrid Christmas " said Daisy,, biting a piece out of her bread, and butter viciously. "Not a bit like the Christmas cards, and I thought it was going to be so nice "I "Yes," said Denny, with his mouth full. "And we haven't even got cahe for tea!"

"Greedy!" said Daisy. Tho wants cake? I wanted tc hare my best frock on, with the blue sash, and sit with mamma, in the drawing-room, and tell ghost stories, and hear all about Santa Claus."

"YeSp and papa seemed so cross," chimed in Denny. "He pushed ua out just as if we had been naughty. I wonder if he found I broke his razor?"

Daisy shook her head. "Mamma was cross, too," she said. "And I hadn't done anything— least, not since I spilt the soup on the carpet at dinner. Oh, dear; isn't this bread, dry?" "A little jam would make it nicer," suggested Denny. Daisy's eyes grew very thoughtful. She had kept quite still with her bread-and-butter poised mid-way between her plate and her mouth. Then she laid it down,, and slipped quickly down from her chair.

"Come along!" she said. "Let's go and steal some!"

"Oh!" said Denny, who lived in daily fear of cook. "We shall be sure to be caught, and then we shall be sent straight to bed."

Denny was just climbing up on the top shelf to reach the pots pointed out by his sister, when he stopped still and lifted up his finger. "Hark!" he said in some astonishment. "It's papa and mamma," said Daisy, "and they're quarrelling! Listen!"

"Cowardy custard!" said Daisy. 'Til go by myself." Now; if there was anything Denny hated, it was being called a .cowardy custard. Daisy was much bigger and sturdier for her age, and never got tired or had the headache; but, although weakly, he was no coward, and often nearly exhausted himself to keep with his tom-boy sister.

"I'm not afraid; you know I'm not!" he said, with a very red face. "Come along; you come down and watch mc steal the jam!" The pair then crept down the stairs in some excitement, passing the kitchen door in safety, and through the long passage that led to the larder. "Oh, dear, do make haste!" whispered Daisy, trying to frighten Denny. "I think 1 hear cookie coming!" "I don't care if she does come!" laughed Denny. '"It would be fun! Now, what jam shall we have?" "Det mc see*," said Daisy, spelling out the labels. "R-a-s-p, that's raspberry; S-t-r-a-w, that's strawberry. Oh, let's have some greengage!" Denny was just climbing up on the top shelf to # reach the pots pointed out by his sister, when he stopped still, and lifted up his finger. "Hark!" he said, in some astonishment.

Daisy ceased spelling out the names on the jam-pots, and listened, too. Through the little glazed windows in the pantry came voices from the draw-ing-room—voices that were strange to the children's ears, and raised far beyond the usual pitch. "It's papa and mamma," said Daisy, "and they're quarrelling! Listen!" "I should think you imagine I'm made of money!" came the angry voice of Mr. Lovejoy. "I never heard of anything so monstrous! And just at Chistmas time, too, when you know there are so many bills to meet! I think you must be mad, Edith!"

"Well, when you married mc you knew that you would have to dress mc. If you think thfat I am going to go round looking a fright you're wron". There's Mrs. Harris— always beautifully dressed, and I'm sure that her husband does not storm every time she buys any clothes,. The £150 includes the clothes for Denny and Daisy. You don't want them to go round in rags, I suppose?"

"Gre&t Scott, woman! I can't afford £ 150, and I won't. You must get some one else to pay your bill." The sound of their mother weeping and their father walking angrily up and down the drawing-room reached the children's ears.

"Come away," said Daisy, and Denny quietly slipped off the shelf, and they crept back noiselessly to the nursery. The desire for jam was gone—indeed, they wanted no more tea. "Father was very angry," said Daisy, "and poor mother was crying." "I wonder could we do anything?" said Denny. "Oh! I know," rejoined Daisy. "Well give them the money in our money box."

They got down the box off the shelf and laboriously counted out their little hoard of wealth. There was 2/6^.

"I'm afraid," said Denny, "it's not very much. Mother said £150. That's an awful lot of money." "I know what well do," said Daisy, brightening. "Well hay mother and father a present. You can't help feeling pleased when someone gives you a present, and then they'll mtake it up. Won't that be grand?"

Mary, the nursemaid, who was very good to the children, came into the room, and her quick eye detected that something was amiss. "What a poor tea you have hadhardly any bread and butter gone! What's the matter with you both? Didn't cook give you any cake?"

"No," said Daisy, "nor any jam either; but we didn't want any, thank you, Mary." "There's a mean old thing for yon!" said Mary- "Never mind, Miss Daisy, you shall have something real nice for your supper. I'll see to it myself something nice and Christmasy-" "You are a dear, Mary!" said Denny, throwing his arms impulsively round the housemaid's neck. "I say, Mary, when anyone gives you a present do you feel pleased?" "T should rather think so," said Mary. When I get one, but that isn't often." "And do you feel you love people when you've been very cross with them put in Daisy. "That I do," answered Mary, laughing. "I know when I fell out with my young man and he bought mc a bracelet I though he was the nicest young man in the world until I found out it was only brass. But, there, Miss Daisy, presents ain't everything." And Mary went off with the tea-tray in answer to a loud call from cook below.

"There you are! there you are!" cried Daisy, capering about. "I told you so! Well go and buy the presents straight away. I wonder what they would like? It .rill he fun looking in all the shops! Get your hat and coat on. Denny, and be as quiet as a mouse! We can slip out beatifully while they're having tea!"

A few minutes later the twins were out in the streets in search of shops. It was very damp and very foggyso foggy that you could scarcely see the street lamps, and, although Daisy held Denny's hand tight within her own and kept close by the wall all the way, she was very glad when they came to* the bright, busy town. They enjoyed looking in the shops immensely, gazing up at the rows of fat turkeys and counting the coloured rosettes that decorated the prize cattle in the butcher's shops. But deciding what presents to buy was the best part of all- They looked in dozens of shops, and still could not make up their minds. Then Daisy spied a green china eat. -with staring eyes and a lon-?, narrow neck. She cried out in pleasure and clapped her hands.

"Look! Denny, look!" she said. "Well buy that for mamma. It's just like poor Towser that she cried over so when he died- Oh, she will be pleased!" "Towser wasn't green!" demurred Denny. "No, but he looked just as cunning, and it would make a lovely ornament for the drawing-room. What shall we buy for papa?" After some little discussion they decided on an inkstand decidedly novel inkstand, with a real chicken's claw to hold the pens fastened to an ambercoloured stand.

"It's lovely!" said Daisy, "and they are both only a shilling each. We've still got sixnence three farthins-s to snend. Couldn't we buy something for Mary. You know, we asked her about the presents, and shell sure to think we meant to buy ber one." "Yes," said Denny. "I suppose we'd better. What do you girls like? I know, let's buy her a bracelet; she said she liked them."

"But could we buy one for sixpence?" They asked to see some bracelets, and in this wonderful shop of everything they found, to their joy. that a lovely silver bracelet in the shape of a snake could be bought for sixpence-halfpenny.

They paid the money joyously and walked out of the shop. Then they tried to find the way home. But this was not quite so easy as they imagined. The fog was so very, very thick when once the lights from the shops were passed, and they could not remember the nanvs of the roads. They walked about for a long time and thought they must have taken the wrong turning, so they turned back again. j After bravely trying to find the way ; for a long time, Daisy" gave up and began to cry, and even ■ Denny was frightened.

"Never mind, Daisy," he said, soothingly. "We shall be sure to find our road soon. Don't cry on the cat or perhaps the colour will run."

"I wish we hadn't come out!" sobbed I Daisy. "What's the good of presents if iwe can't get home to give them?" | At that moment Denny gave a joyful ; little cry, and she saw him run forward and throw his arms around the legs of a very fat policeman. "Hulloa! hulloal" said the fat policeman. "What have we here? Is this an I assault on a member of the force?"

"Oh, if yon please, don't be cross, Mr Policeman cried "Denny; "but we're lost."

"Lost, are you?" said the fat policeman. "Well, I'm not surprised on a night like this. Now let's see if we can't find you again. Where do you live?"

"Holly Lodge, Chestnut Walk," said Daisy glibly. "Holly Lodge, eh?" said the fai policeman. **1 seem to k. ,N w that name. Is that where a nice girl named Mary lives 1"

Daisy saw him run forward and throw his arms round the' legs of a very fat policeman. "Hulloa,. hulloa!" said the fat policeman- "What have we here? Is this an assault on a member of the force?" "Oh, if you please, don't be cross, Mr Policeman!" cried Denny, "but we're lost-"

"Yes, yes!" cried Daisy, with a little shriek of delight. "Oh, you dear Mr. Policeman! Are you the young man who gave her a bracelet "Well, I don't know about that," said the fat policeman. "But I wouldn't mind giving her one." "Wouldn't —wouldn't you really?" said Daisy. "Well, if you take us home you shall. I've got one in my pocket — a beauty — a lovely silver snake, not a brass one, and you shall give it to Mary yourself as if you bought it with your own money." "Yes, and it cost sixpence," said Den-

ny. "Well, that's a bargain!" said the fat policeman, chuckling, and taking each by the hand made off with them in the direction of Holly Lodge. Here they found the house in a commotion. The Children had been missed some hours ago and everyone was filled with anxiety. Mrs. Lovejoy caught them in her arms and sobbed with thankfulness.

"Oh, mamma, we're so £prry we got lost," said Daisy, when she could speak. "But we—we heard you and papa quarrelling so we went 'to buy you some presents to make it up. See, I have.got a cat for you, just like Towser, and Denny has an inkstand with a real chicken's claw on it for papa." Mrs. Lovejoy met her husband's eye. "It's a lovely cat, Daisy!" she staid. '•'And I just -wanted an inkstand," said Mr. Lovejoy, looking at the chicken's claw with a slight shudder. "Thank you very much for them, dears," exclaimed Mrs. Lovejoy.

"Y«s," said their mother, laughing. "Well, why don't you kiss papa, then, and make it up?" said Daisy. Mrs. Lovejoy's pretty face coloured, but she did not move. It was Mr. Lovejoy who did that. To the twins' delight, he went across the room, lifted up his wife's face, and kissed her ly"There you are, you truants," he , laughed- "Now, run away into the nursery." "It was the presents that did it!" whispered Daisy very gleefully, as they walked off.

They ran quickly out into the kitchen, and found the fat policeman sitting comfortably in an arm-chair, talking very amiably to Mary. "The fat policeman," said Denny. "We promised he should give Mary her bracelet. Oh, I do hope he hasn't

gone!" They ran quickly out into the kitchen, and found the fat policeman sitting comfortably in an arm-chair, talking very amiably to Mary. "We forgot the bracelet," said Daisy, in a stage whisper. "Here it is, and we hope Mary will like it better than the brass one."

"The dear, funny mites!" said Mary, "To think of > them buying mc a bracelet!"

"I much prefer rings myself," said the fat. policeman, looing very hard at her. "Have some more beer?" said Mary. AMY B. JACOBS.