tone, "that 'precludes,' as Gee Gee would say, your doing such a thing."

"What's that, Miss Smarty?"

"You are not twins," declared Bobby, with gravity. "So you could not very
well play that trick."

"Oh, my!" murmured Nellie, "what would we do if Hester were twins?"

"Don't mention it!" begged Jess. "The thought is terrifying."

But there proved to be a second thing about Hester which came out
prominently within the week. This was something that not many of the girls
of Central High had suspected before the moment of revelation.

The first performance of "The Rose Garden" was set for Friday night. There
would follow a matinee and evening performance on Saturday--provided, of
course, the first performance encouraged the managers to go on with the
production.

"It all depends," sighed Jess, bearing a deal of the responsibility for the
success of the piece on her young shoulders. "If we are punk, then nobody
will come back to see the show a second time, or advise other folks to see
it. And if we don't make a heap of money for the Red Cross, after all the
advertising we've had, what will folks think of us?"

They were really all worried by the fear of failure. All but Hester. She
did not appear to care. And it did seem as though every time she rehearsed
she made the "dark lady" of the rose garden more wooden and impossible than
before.