



Produced by Al Haines










[Frontispiece: "Cats for the cats' home!" said Sir Maurice Falconer.]






THE TERRIBLE TWINS


By

EDGAR JEPSON



Author of

The Admirable Tinker, Pollyooly, etc.




WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY

HANSON BOOTH




INDIANAPOLIS

THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY

PUBLISHERS




COPYRIGHT 1913

THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY




[Updater's note: In the originally posted version of this book (August
14, 2006), four pages (3, 4, 53, 54) were missing.  In early February
2008, the missing pages were found, scanned and submitted by a reader
of the original etext and incorporated into this updated version.]




CONTENTS


Chapter

    I  AND CAPTAIN BASTER
   II  GUARDIAN ANGELS
  III  AND THE CATS' HOME
   IV  AND THE VISIT OF INSPECTION
    V  AND THE SACRED BIRD
   VI  AND THE LANDED PROPRIETOR
  VII  AND PRINGLE'S POND
 VIII  AND THE MUTTLE DEEPING PEACHES
   IX  AND THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM
    X  AND THE ENTERTAINMENT OF ROYALTY
   XI  AND THE UNREST CURE
  XII  AND THE MUTTLE DEEPING FISHING
 XIII  AND AN APOLOGY
  XIV  AND THE SOUND OF WEDDING BELLS




ILLUSTRATIONS


"Cats for the cats' home!" said
  Sir Maurice Falconer...... _Frontispiece_

"This is different," she said.

We are avenged.

She was almost sorry when they came at last to the foot of the knoll.

The Archduke bellowed, "Zerbst!  Zerbst!  Zerbst!"

Sir James turned and found himself looking into the deep brown eyes of
a very pretty woman.




THE TERRIBLE TWINS


CHAPTER I

AND CAPTAIN BASTER

For all that their voices rang high and hot, the Twins were really
discussing the question who had hit Stubb's bull-terrier with the
greatest number of stones, in the most amicable spirit.  It was indeed
a nice question and hard to decide since both of them could throw
stones quicker, straighter and harder than any one of their size and
weight for miles and miles round; and they had thrown some fifty at the
bull-terrier before they had convinced that dense, but irritated,
quadruped that his master's interests did not really demand his
presence in the orchard; and of these some thirty had hit him.  Violet
Anastasia Dangerfield, who always took the most favorable view of her
experience, claimed twenty hits out of a possible thirty; Hyacinth
Wolfram Dangerfield, in a very proper spirit, had at once claimed the
same number; and both of them were defending their claims with loud
vehemence, because if you were not loudly vehement, your claim lapsed.

Suddenly Hyacinth Wolfram, as usual, closed the discussion; he said
firmly, "I tell you what: we both hit that dog the same number of
times."

So saying, he swung round the rude calico bag, bulging with booty,
which hung from his shoulders, and took from it two Ribston pippins.

"Perhaps we did," said Anastasia amiably.  They went swiftly down the
road, munching in a peaceful silence.

It had been an odd whim of nature to make the Twins so utterly unlike.
No stranger ever took Violet Anastasia Dangerfield, so dark-eyed,
dark-haired, dark-skinned, of so rich a coloring, so changeful and
piquant a face, for the cousin, much less for the twin-sister, of
Hyacinth Wolfram Dangerfield, so fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed,
on whose firmly chiseled features rested so perpetual, so contrasting a
serenity.  But it was a whim of man, of their wicked uncle Sir Maurice