IV

THE CROSBY TWINS

The Crosby twins were making a formal call upon Isabel. They had been
skating and still carried their skates, but Juliet wore white gloves and
had pinned her unruly hair into some semblance of order while they
waited at the door. She wore a red tam-o'-shanter on her brown curls and
a white sweater under her dark green skating costume, which was short
enough to show the heavy little boots, just now filling the room with
the unpleasant odour of damp leather.

"Won't you take off your coat?" asked Isabel. "You'll catch cold when
you go out, if you don't take it off."

"Thanks," responded Juliet, somewhat stiffly. Then she stretched out
both hands to her hostess, laughing as she did so. "Look!" The sweater
sleeves had crept up to her elbows, displaying several inches of bare,
red arm between the sleeves and the short white gloves.

"That's just like us," remarked Romeo. "If we try to be elegant,
something always happens."

The twins looked very much alike. They were quite tall and still
retained the dear awkwardness of youth, in spite of the near approach of
their twenty-first birthday. They had light brown curly hair, frank blue