"I wanted you to go down-town with me after school."

"Well, perhaps I can do that. Fairy will be able to finish the coat
alone."

"You needn't finish the coat!--I can't wear father's coat to church,
Prudence. It's a--it's a--physical impossibility."

The twins laughed. Fairy smiled, but Prudence gazed at "the baby" with
tender pity.

"I'm so sorry, dearest, but we haven't the money to buy one now."

"Will five dollars be enough?" inquired Connie, and she placed her
crisp new bill beside her plate. The twins gasped! They gazed at
Connie with new respect. They were just wishing they could handle
five-dollar bills so recklessly.

"Will you loan me twenty dollars until after Christmas, Connie?"
queried Fairy.

But Prudence asked, "Where did you get this money, Connie?"

"I borrowed it,--from the bank," Connie replied with proper gravity.
"I have two years to pay it back. Mr. Harold says they are proud to
have my trade."

Prudence was silent for several long seconds. Then she inquired in a
low voice, "Did you tell him why you wanted it?"