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MARY GRANT BRUCE’S VERY POPULAR STORIES Published by WARD, LOCK & CO., LTD. Uniform with this volume. ——— A LITTLE BUSH MAID TIMOTHY IN BUSHLAND MATES AT BILLABONG FROM BILLABONG TO LONDON GLEN EYRE NORAH OF BILLABONG GRAY’S HOLLOW JIM AND WALLY ’POSSUM DICK DICK LESTER OF KURRAJONG BACK TO BILLABONG THE STONE AXE OF BURKAMUKK BILLABONG’S DAUGHTER THE HOUSE OF THE EAGLES
[Illustration: “‘It’s all right,’ Jean assured him. ‘No one knows you are here.’” (Page 233.) _The Twins of Emu Plains_] [_Frontispiece_]
W A R D , L O C K & C O . , L I M I T E D LONDON AND MELBOURNE
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CHAP. PAGE I THE PLEASANT MADNESS OF THE TWINS. 7 II MIDNIGHT. . . . . . 17 III THE LAST DAYS OF TERM. . . 29 IV A LETTER FROM HOME. . . . 43 V HELEN HAS AN IDEA. . . . 54 VI EMU PLAINS. . . . . 71 VII THE TWINS’ SURPRISE-PACKET. . 83 VIII GETTING ON TERMS. . . . 93 IX THE PROGRAMME. . . . . 105 X MIXED INSTRUCTIONS. . . . 114 XI THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE. . . 131 XII RESPONSIBILITIES. . . . 146 XIII A JERSEY BULL. . . . . 163 XIV GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS. . . 180 XV SUNDAY AFTERNOON. . . . 198 XVI THE TWINS TAKE A HOLIDAY. . . 210 XVII THE TURNING OF THE LONG LANE. . 232 XVIII CONCLUSION. . . . . 244
CHAPTER I THE PLEASANT MADNESS OF THE TWINS
THE final struggle in the tennis match between Merriwa and Kooringal schools was raging, and the very air about the court at Merriwa was vibrant with excitement. The western side, which gave the best view, without the sun in one’s eyes, was, by traditional use, given over to the supporters of the visiting team; and there the Kooringals massed in a solid phalanx, under their green and mauve flag, and screamed as one individual at the doughty strokes of their champions. Opposite them were the long lines of the Merriwiggians, with dark-blue favours that matched their silken banner, and with voices no less jubilant when a well-placed School stroke got past the said champions’ defence. At either end of the court the seats of the mighty bore the impressive forms of “teachers, parents, and guardians”; some watching the play as eagerly as any Fourth Form youngster, while others were so lost to a sense of their opportunities as to while away the time in discussing the latest Russian pianist or the result of the State Elections. Afternoon tea had already occurred; even now, in the pavilion, could be heard the clatter of crockery as the maids packed up—a faint and far-away sound, that contrasted oddly with the simmering excitement round the tennis-court.