CHAPTER XV

THE TWINS

“It’s the most wonderful thing that ever happened in this world,” declared Marjorie.

“It’s just like a thing in a book or a play,” affirmed Bobby. “I didn’t suppose any two girls could possibly look so exactly alike.”

It was after luncheon, and the two Campbells and Reggie were on the hotel piazza, eagerly discussing the events of the morning. They were not the only excited group who were discussing the same subject, for the extraordinary story had quickly spread among the hotel guests, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes were eagerly watching for a glimpse of the wonderful twins.

“I was too excited to eat any lunch,” said Marjorie. “My hand shook so I kept spilling things, and a lump came in my throat every time I tried to swallow. It was all so sudden; first our scare about Percy, and then the right Kathleen coming off the steamer. It was just like a scene in a play.”

“Have some fudge,” said Reggie, gallantly presenting a paper bag.

Marjorie accepted the offering, and proceeded to nibble a succulent morsel.

“That Nora must be an awful girl,” she remarked, reflectively. “How could anybody have kept up a thing like that for a whole week? She must have planned it all out, so as to come here for a good time instead of poor Kathleen.”

“She didn’t do anything of the sort,” declared Reggie, indignantly. “Mrs. Carew has been telling Mother all about it. She didn’t want to deceive people, and she’s had an awful time.”

“What did she do it for, then?” demanded Marjorie.

“Because she had promised her mother not to let any one find out she wasn’t the right Kathleen. She was afraid Mr. Crawford would be angry, and it would get her mother into trouble. I think she was one of the pluckiest girls I ever heard of. It must have been frightful to have to stay in bed for five days, and have a trained nurse.”

“I say!” exclaimed Bobby, with a sudden recollection; “that story she told us the other day on the beach--about the king and queen, and the twin babies, you know. She said she didn’t know the end of it yet. Why, it must have been all true, and she just changed the names to make it sound as if she was making it up. She must be awfully clever. But I don’t believe Mr. Crawford is angry. He was smiling all through lunch, and he talked a lot to Nora’s mother.”

“That was because he was so relieved about Kathleen,” said Marjorie. “You see, he was terribly worried, because he thought there was something the matter with her brain. I’m relieved, too, for I really am fond of Kathleen.”

“I think I like the old Kathleen best,” observed Reggie. “I say, isn’t her mother pretty? I couldn’t help looking at her all lunch-time.”

“She and Mr. Crawford have gone for a walk together,” reported Bobby. “I suppose they want to talk things over.”

“I hope nobody is going to be punished,” said Reggie, a little anxiously. “I don’t believe any one could scold Mrs. O’Neil; she’s so pretty, and I really think Nora was a brick.”

“Here come the twins!” cried Bobby, excitedly. “Just look at them. Can you possibly tell which is which?”

“I know Nora by her hat,” said Reggie. “Let’s go and talk to them.”

But there was no need of moving, for at the first sight of her friends the real Kathleen ran eagerly forward. Nora hung back a little shyly, but her twin--whose arm was round her waist--pulled her forward with a firm hand.

“Isn’t it the funniest thing that ever happened?” demanded Kathleen, kissing Marjorie effusively. “Just think of your not knowing me, and thinking Nora had something dreadful the matter with her brain.”

“I’m awfully glad we were mistaken,” declared Marjorie, giving her friend an impulsive hug. “How did you ever manage to deceive us so, Kath--I mean Nora? You must be very clever.”

“It was very hard sometimes,” Nora admitted, modestly, “but my father was a great actor, and I tried to think I was playing a part, just as he did. I’m very sorry I deceived you all, and made Mr. Crawford so unhappy, but I thought I had to do it.”

“Daddy isn’t unhappy now,” said Kathleen. “He said he was so thankful to find I was all right that he was ready to forgive everybody in the world. The one thing I can’t understand is how Nora could possibly have been afraid of Daddy.”

“I’m not a bit afraid of him any more,” said Nora, “but you see, I haven’t known him as long as you have.”

“Your voices are just as much alike as your faces,” remarked Bobby. “If I shut my eyes I know I wouldn’t have any idea which of you was talking.”

“I think I would,” said Reggie. “Have some fudge, Nora? I’m going to try to remember to call you Nora, but Kathleen seems so much more natural.”

“Sit down and tell us all about it,” said Marjorie; “it’s so interesting, and we’ve hardly heard anything yet.”

“Well,” said Kathleen, “I’m afraid I was pretty horrid at first. You see, I thought Nora had gone off to Bermuda on purpose, and it did seem rather mean. But after a while I began to realize it had all been a mistake, and then I was ashamed of having made such a fuss. I was dreadfully disappointed, though, and I’m afraid I made poor Mother very unhappy. She wanted to take me home, and explain everything to Mrs. Anderson, but I wouldn’t let her. You see, I was beginning to love her, and I wanted to stay with her if I couldn’t go to Daddy. Mother would have sent word to Daddy at once, but there isn’t any telegraph to Bermuda, so there was nothing to do but wait for the next boat, which didn’t sail till day before yesterday. Mother promised to bring me to Daddy just as soon as she possibly could, and of course I wanted to go, but living in the studio was rather fun, and I kept loving Mother better every minute.”

“She’s very pretty,” observed Bobby, sympathetically.

“Pretty! I should think she was! She’s the loveliest person I’ve ever seen, and I love her better than any one in the world except Daddy.”

“Did you get to know the Judsons, or any of my other friends?” asked Nora.

Kathleen laughed.

“I got to know the Judsons very well,” she said. “Jimmy and May were in the studio when Mother came back from our house, and told me you had gone, so of course they found out all about everything. Mrs. Judson wanted Mother to write a vaudeville sketch about us. She said she was sure it would make a sensation. Jimmy talks awful slang, but I rather like him, and May is very sweet. There was another girl, too, who wanted me to help her write a composition, and wouldn’t believe me when I told her I couldn’t.”

“That must have been Lina Rosenbaum,” said Nora. “She offered to give me a present if I would write her composition for her.”

“Well, what’s going to happen now you’re here, and Mr. Crawford knows everything?” inquired Marjorie.

“I don’t know just what’s going to happen,” said Kathleen, “but I know one thing, and that is I’m never going to give up Mother again, now that I’ve found her, and of course I shall always stay with Daddy, so I suppose the only thing will be for Mother and Nora to come and live with us.”

Nora looked a little doubtful.

“I’m afraid Mummy won’t be willing to do that,” she said. “I don’t think she would like to live in another person’s house unless she could work to pay for her board.”

“Well? she might be our housekeeper then,” suggested Kathleen. “I’m sure she would make a much better one than Mrs. Anderson. Anyhow, I’m never going to let her go again, or you either, so it will have to be arranged in some way.”

“It does seem as if twins ought to live together,” remarked Reggie.

“Of course they ought, and besides, I need Nora. Aunt Kitty is always saying I wouldn’t be half so spoiled and selfish if I had to share things with somebody else, and now that I’ve stayed with Mother, and found out how lovely it is to be sweet and unselfish like her, I don’t intend to be spoiled any longer.”

Nora still looked doubtful, but at that moment Sarah was seen approaching in their direction.

“Here comes Sarah,” said Kathleen. “Oh, wasn’t her face funny when she saw us both on the pier, and didn’t know which was which?”

“Not as funny as Miss Beck’s was,” said Nora, laughing. “I believe she thought everybody had been deceiving her, even your father. She wouldn’t speak to me, even to say good-bye. Sarah’s beckoning to us. I guess we’d better go.”

Kathleen sprang to her feet.

“We’re going for a walk,” she said. “I want to see everything there is in Bermuda now I’m here.”

“You won’t have much time if you’re going back on the boat day after to-morrow,” said Marjorie.

“We’re not going back day after to-morrow,” said Kathleen, with decision. “We’re going to stay three weeks. Daddy arranged in the first place to have me come for three weeks, and now I’m here I’m going to stay. I told Daddy so, and he laughed and pinched my cheek. That always means he’s going to do what I want him to. We’re coming, Sarah. Good-bye, Marjorie; we’ll see you later.” And away hurried Kathleen, followed by her still somewhat bewildered twin.

“Kathleen hasn’t changed one bit,” remarked Marjorie, as the sisters disappeared around a corner of the piazza. “She always managed to get her own way about everything. I’m glad she isn’t going right back to New York, though.”

“I suppose Nora and her mother will go,” said Reggie, regretfully. “I’m sorry, for I like her much better than the new one.”

“They won’t go if Kathleen decides they are to stay,” said Marjorie. And Marjorie was correct in her prediction.

It was after five when the twins and Sarah returned from their walk. It had been a pleasant afternoon, and Nora had enjoyed it thoroughly, notwithstanding her regret that her mother was not with them.

“I never realized before what a wonderful thing it is to be out-of-doors,” she remarked reflectively. “Every one of those five days seemed like a year. It was pretty bad when I had the measles, but then Mummy was with me.”

“Of course that must have made a great difference,” said Kathleen, with unusual seriousness. “I don’t think anybody could be very lonely or unhappy if they had Mother. Do you know, Nora, I think you are almost as unselfish as she is.”

Nora’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Oh, but I’m not!” she protested. “What ever made you think such a thing?”

“Because you’re so sweet about letting me share Mother with you. After all, she was your mother first, you know, and if you had wanted to keep her to yourself, you need never have told me about her.”

“But I couldn’t help telling you,” said Nora. “I ought not to have gone into your house at all, but it was such a terrible temptation. You see, I’d been loving you for such a long time.”

An odd, softened look came into Kathleen’s face, and her lip trembled. “I’m glad you did,” she whispered, giving her sister’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “I’m afraid I never loved any one very much except Daddy, but I love Mother dearly, and I’m going to love you, too.”

Mrs. O’Neil was watching for the children, and came down the piazza steps to meet them. One glance at her mother’s face was sufficient to assure Nora that all was well.

“Did you and Daddy have a good, satisfactory talk, Mother?” inquired Kathleen, as they all three went into the hotel together.

“Yes, darling. Your daddy has been so good to me--so wonderfully generous and forgiving.”

“Of course he was all right,” said Kathleen. “I kept telling you all the time there wasn’t anything to be worried about. And is it arranged about your staying here three weeks with Daddy and me?”

Mrs. O’Neil smiled and shook her head.

“I am afraid not, dear,” she said; “Nora and I must go back to New York by Wednesday’s boat, but you will be so happy with your daddy that you won’t miss us much, and when we all get home, we can see each other very often.”

Kathleen’s face clouded.

“I shall miss you,” she declared; “I shall miss you dreadfully. Where’s Daddy? I want to speak to him.”

“I saw him a few minutes ago,” said her mother. “I think he has gone to his room.”

“Then I’ll go and find him,” said Kathleen. “My room is next to his, you know. You’re to stay with Nora.” And away flew Kathleen, looking very determined about something, and closely followed by the faithful Sarah.

“Oh, Mummy darling, it is good to have you all to myself for a little while,” cried Nora, when the door of the room in which she had spent so many dreary days closed behind them. “You can never know how terribly I have wanted you, and how dreadful it has been sometimes.”

There was a catch in Nora’s voice, and her mother took her in her arms and kissed her.

“Come and sit here on the sofa and tell Mummy all about it,” she said tenderly, and with her head on her mother’s shoulder, Nora told her story. She told everything from the very beginning, and Mrs. O’Neil listened and sympathized as only she could have done.

“It was very hard,” finished Nora, “especially after they thought I was ill. Mr. Crawford was so kind, and I hated to worry him, but I kept thinking about you, and I was so afraid of getting you in trouble.”

“My poor little girl,” murmured Mrs. O’Neil, kissing her; “I’m afraid I have been very much to blame. I should have known better how to keep my secret even from you, but it was so hard never to be able to speak of my Kathleen to any one, and as things have turned out, I am afraid I cannot be as sorry as I ought. If it were not for all you have suffered I should be only glad, for Mr. Crawford has been so very good to me. Just think, Nora, he says I may see Kathleen as often as I like, and you children need never be separated again. He reproached me for not having come to him long ago. He did not even know that I was alive. You see, we had never met; all the arrangements were made through Mrs. Crawford and a mutual friend. Mr. Crawford is a very just man, and--oh, Nora darling, I am so happy and so grateful! You have no idea what the anxiety of the past ten days has been.”

“I think I have a little,” said Nora, softly. “It was pretty bad, but I would do it all over again just to see your eyes look the way they do now. Oh, there’s the telephone. Shall I answer it?”

Mrs. O’Neil nodded, and Nora flew to the telephone.

“It’s for you, Mummy,” she announced. “Somebody wants to know if you would mind coming down to the office for a minute, to speak to the manager.”

Mrs. O’Neil rose, looking very much surprised.

“I can’t imagine what he wants,” she said; “I am sure there must be some mistake.”

She left the room, and Nora put away her hat and jacket, reflecting as she did so that it really was very pleasant to be free to wait upon one’s self. A maid was all right for certain occasions, no doubt, but ordinarily she really preferred the old simple ways of the studio. She was not left long in solitude, however, for she had just finished washing her hands and brushing her hair, when the door opened, and Kathleen came in, looking flushed and important.

“Where’s Mother?” she demanded, eagerly.

“Gone to the office to speak to the manager. He telephoned that he wanted to see her, but she thinks it must be a mistake.”

Kathleen gave a little skip, and clapped her hands.

“It’s all right,” she assured Nora; “Daddy and I know about it.”

“About what?” inquired Nora, laying down the hair-brush, and regarding her twin in astonishment.

Kathleen smiled mysteriously.

“I guess Mother’ll tell you pretty soon,” she said. “You look awfully well in that dress, Nora; it fits you much better than it used to fit me.”

Nora blushed.

“Do you think I ought to wear it?” she asked, timidly. “I love your dresses, but now that you’ve come, of course you ought to have them all back again.”

“I don’t want them,” said Kathleen, in a tone of decision. “It’s all settled, so you needn’t say any more about it. Even Sarah says I’ve got twice as many clothes as I need, so you are to keep all you want, and you are to keep that watch, too; Daddy says so.”

“Oh!” gasped Nora, “how wonderful! But do you think Mummy will let me?”

“Of course she will. I guess my daddy can make a person a present if he wants to. He says you’ve been very plucky, and he is sure you’ll be an actress some day. He saw your father act once, and he was wonderful.”

Nora flushed with pride.

“He was a great actor,” she said, “and he was your father, too, Kathleen, don’t you know that?”

“Yes, I know, but I don’t want to talk about it. Daddy is my father, and I’m not going to let any other one ever take his place, even if he was the greatest actor, or the greatest anything else in the world. Daddy says I must be proud of your--our father, but I’m not going to be, at least not now, when I’ve just got my own daddy back. Here comes Mother. Oh, Mother clear, is it all settled?”

Mrs. O’Neil closed the door, and stood regarding her two small daughters with shining eyes.

“Kathleen,” she said in a voice that tried to be stern, but somehow failed, “what have you been telling Mr. Crawford about me?”

Kathleen laughed triumphantly.

“I just told him how you wrote things for the newspapers, and asked him if there weren’t any newspapers printed in Bermuda. He thought for a minute, and then he jumped up and kissed me, and said, ‘Not a bad idea, little woman,’ and then he called up somebody in the office, and talked for a few minutes, and when he was through he laughed and kissed me again, and--why, that’s all.”

Mrs. O’Neil sank helplessly into the rocking-chair.

“You and your daddy have managed things wonderfully,” she said, and though she was smiling, there were tears in her eyes. “I fully expected to take Nora back to New York on Wednesday’s boat, and now here I am engaged to stay here for the next three weeks, and write up the society events of Bermuda. The manager tells me that the reporter who has been here all winter left last week, and he is really in need of some one to take her place, but if you and Mr. Crawford hadn’t----”

Mrs. O’Neil got no farther, for Nora’s arms were round her neck, and Kathleen was executing a war dance about the room.

“It’s the loveliest thing that ever happened,” cried Nora, rapturously. “Bermuda is such a beautiful place, and, oh, won’t we have good times here all together?”

“I knew Daddy would be able to manage it in some way,” said Kathleen, pausing in her war dance to hug her mother and sister. “All I ever have to do is just to suggest something, and he does all the rest.”