The twins came in at dinner-time wrapped in unwonted silence. Lark's face was darkened by an anxious shadow, while Carol wore an expression of heroic determination. They sat down to the table without a word, and helped themselves to fish balls with a surprising lack of interest. "What's up?" Connie asked, when the rest of the family dismissed the matter with amused glances. Lark sighed and looked at Carol, seeming to seek courage from that Spartan countenance. Carol squared her shoulders. "Well, go on," Connie urged. "Don't be silly. You know you're crazy to tell us about it, you only want to be coaxed." Lark sighed again, and gazed appealingly at her stout-hearted twin. Carol never could resist the appeal of those pleading eyes. "Larkie promised to speak a piece at the Sunday-school concert two weeks from to-morrow," she vouchsafed, as unconcernedly as possible. "Mercy!" ejaculated Connie, with an astonishment that was not altogether complimentary. "Careful, Larkie," cautioned Fairy. "You'll disgrace the parsonage if you don't watch out." "Nonsense," declared their father, "Lark can speak as well as anybody if she just keeps a good grip on herself and doesn't get stage fright." Aunt Grace smiled gently. Connie frowned. "It's a risky business," she said. "Lark can't speak any more than a rabbit, and--" "I know it," was the humble admission. "Don't be a goose, Con," interrupted Carol. "Of course Lark can speak a piece. She must learn it, learn it, learn it, so she can rattle it off backwards with her eyes shut. Then even if she gets scared, she can go right on and folks won't know the difference. It gets to be a habit if you know it well enough. That's the whole secret. Of course she can speak." "How did it happen?" inquired Fairy. "I don't know," Lark said sorrowfully. "Nothing was ever farther from my thoughts, I assure you. The first thing I knew, Mrs. Curtiss was thanking me for my promise, and Carol was marching me off like grim death." Carol smiled, relieved now that the family commentary was over. "It was very natural. Mrs. Curtiss begged her to do it, and Lark refused. That always happens, every time the Sunday-school gives an entertainment. But Mrs. Curtiss went on to say how badly the Sunday-school needs the money, and how big a drawing card it would be for both of us twins to be on the program, one right after the other, and how well it would look for the parsonage, and it never occurred to me to warn Lark, for I never dreamed of her doing it. And all of a sudden she said, 'All right, then, I'll do it,' and Mrs. Curtiss gave her a piece and we came home. But I'm not worried about it. Lark can do anything if she only tries." "I thought it wouldn't hurt me to try it once," Lark volunteered in her own defense. Aunt Grace nodded, with a smile of interested approval. "I'm proud of you, Lark, quite proud of you," her father said warmly. "It's a big thing for you to make such a plunge,--just fine."