save pure instinct, the instinct that causes one to fend off a blow, brought his hands up before him. It was, however, not so much instinct as baseball training that brought them there palms upward. And, beyond any doubt, it was training that caused his fingers to close convulsively about the round object that landed with a loud smack in the hollow of his old brown mitten!
The Graduation Ball was over, and as the twins walked homeward with Polly and Mae twelve o'clock struck from the tower of the Congregational Church across the park. There was a big round moon riding high in the heavens, and the June night was warm and scented. Mae was to spend the night with Polly, and so the four kept together across Walnut Street and past the Starling house where, on the second floor, one lighted window proclaimed the presence of Bob. Even as Ned proposed a discreet hail, the light behind the shade went out.
"It was a lovely dance, wasn't it?" asked Polly. Laurie, beside her, assented. "It's been a perfectly gorgeous day," added Polly. "All of it. It was such fun this morning at
