"Indeed you didn't," said Fairy. "It was too bad, but Carol passed it off nicely, and then, turning it into a joke that way took all the embarrassment out of it. It was perfectly all right, and we weren't a bit ashamed." "And you did look awfully sweet when you made your bow," Connie said warmly,--for when a member of the family was down, no one ventured a laugh, laugh-loving though they were. Curious to say, the odd little freak of substitution only endeared the twins to the people of Mount Mark the more. "By ginger, you can't beat them bloomin' twins," said Harvey Reel, chuckling admiringly. And no one disagreed. CHAPTER VII MAKING MATCHES Aunt Grace sat in a low rocker with a bit of embroidery in her hands. And Fairy sat at the table, a formidable array of books before her. Aunt Grace was gazing idly at her sewing basket, a soft smile on her lips. And Fairy was staring thoughtfully into the twilight, a soft glow in her eyes. Aunt Grace was thinking of the jolly parsonage family, and how pleasant it was to live with them. And Fairy was thinking--ah, Fairy was twenty, and twenty-year-olds always stare into the twilight, with dreamy far-seeing eyes. In upon this peaceful scene burst the twins, flushed, tempestuous, in spite of their seventeen years. Their hurry to speak had rendered them incapable of speech, so they stood in the doorway panting breathlessly for a moment, while Fairy and her aunt, withdrawn thus rudely from dreamland, looked at them interrogatively. "Yes, I think so, too," began Fairy, and the twins endeavored to crush her with their lofty scorn. But it is not easy to express lofty scorn when one is red in the face, perspirey and short of breath. So the twins decided of necessity to overlook the offense just this once. Finally, recovering their vocal powers simultaneously, they cried in unison: "Duckie!" "Duck! In the yard! Do you mean a live one? Where did it come from?" ejaculated their aunt. "They mean Professor Duck of their freshman year," explained Fairy complacently. "It's nothing. The twins always make a fuss over him. They feel grateful to him for showing them through freshman science--that's all." "That's all," gasped Carol. "Why, Fairy Starr, do you know he's employed by the--Society of--a--a Scientific Research Organization--or something--in New York City, and gets four thousand dollars a year and has prospects--all kinds of prospects!" "Yes, I know it. You haven't seen him, auntie. He's tall, and has wrinkles around his eyes, and a dictatorial nose, and steel gray eyes. He calls the twins song-birds, and they're so flattered they adore him. He sends them candy for Christmas. You know that Duckie they rave so much about. It's the very man. Is he here?"