Part 19 (1/2)

Tony sat looking at his poor little legs disgustedly, but it was the ugliness of his new footgear that struck him most; he did not feel the torment as his sisters did. Then quite suddenly Betty stripped off the detestable things.

”Thank you,” she said, ”I'll wear my old ones. I prefer the cold.”

Mrs. Pike coloured with annoyance and set her lips firmly. ”How dare you defy me in that way, Elizabeth!” she cried. ”I have told you to wear those stockings, and you _are_ to wear them. Remember, I mean what I say. I wonder your father has not insisted long before this on your wearing flannel next your skin. Don't you know that by going about in flimsy cotton things in all weathers you are laying up for yourself a rheumatic old age, and all kinds of serious illness?”

Kitty shuddered, but not at the prospect drawn for her by her aunt.

”Father knows that we can't,” she said seriously, ”so he never tried to make us.”

Betty, who had been absorbed in thought, looked up eagerly. ”I would much rather have rheumatism than itchy stockings,” she protested quite gravely. ”I don't mind a bit, Aunt Pike. And--well, you see we can't be sure that we shall have an old age, or rheumatics.”

Mrs. Pike grew really angry. ”Put on those stockings at once, miss, and fasten them to your suspenders.--Kitty, fasten yours too.”

”Oh, please let me wait,” cried Kitty, ”before I pull them tight; it is so awful.”

”Nonsense! It is more than half of it fancy. Remember you are to wear them until the warm weather comes,” and with that Aunt Pike walked away triumphant.

”Oh, how hideous they are!” groaned Kitty, as she looked disgustedly at her striped legs; ”how perfectly hideous! I shall be ashamed to go out in them. What will Dan say when he sees them?”

”It is worse for me,” wailed Betty, ”my dress is so short. O Kitty, how can we ever walk in these dreadful things?”

”I don't know,” said Kitty bitterly, ”but we've _got_ to. It is a good thing we have something nice to do to-day, for it may help us to forget.” But nothing made them do that; the discomfort went with them everywhere, and destroyed their pleasure in everything.

Earlier in the day Dr. Trenire had said that they might all go to the station to meet Dan; and they went on top of the 'bus, and alone too, for Anna did not break up until the next day, and the weather was lovely, and everything might have been perfect, if only they could have forgotten their tortured legs. But to do that was more than they were capable of, for, in addition to the torture of them, there was the consciousness of their extraordinary ugliness, an ugliness which caught every eye.

”What on earth have you all got yourselves up in?” was almost Dan's first greeting. ”I say, you aren't going to do it often, are you?”

And Betty straightway explained with much vehemence and feeling the torment of mind and body to which they had been condemned.

”They look like Aunt Pike,” said Dan. ”No one else could have unearthed such things. There is one comfort--we shall always be able to see you coming when you have them on. Now then, mount, or we shan't get outside seats.”

But when Kitty, more than ever conscious after Dan's comments, looked at the steps and the little crowd of people who would witness her ascent, and thought of her dreadful stockings, her heart failed her.

”I--I think I will go inside,” she said hastily.

”So will I,” said Betty, shamefaced too.

”Nonsense,” cried Dan, guessing at once what was the matter. ”You two skip up first, and I'll follow close to hide your le--retreat, I mean.

I am not going to be done out of our drive home together. Now then, courage--up you get!”

And up they did get, but it did require courage: and the getting down was even worse--their cheeks blazed and their hearts grew hot with anger, and oh! the irritation of their poor unhappy legs.

”Kitty,” whispered Betty eagerly, as they hurried into the house, ”come upstairs, quick; I've thought of something. It's a splendid idea!”

With the excuse that they were going to take off their hats and coats, they rushed up to their bedroom and shut themselves in. Aunt Pike was a little surprised at their neatness; Dan was a little hurt at being left so soon, but Betty could not think of that then.

”Kitty,” she breathed, as she closed the door and leaned against it, ”I know what we will do. We will wear our cotton stockings underneath these horrors! They won't scratch us then, will they? And our holidays won't be spoilt, and Aunt Pike won't know, and--don't you think it's a perfectly splendid idea?”

”Splendid,” cried Kitty enthusiastically, dropping on to the floor and beginning to unlace her boots that very moment. ”Oh, quickly let us make haste and change them; I cannot, cannot endure this torment a minute longer. O Betty, why didn't you think of it sooner?”

Then, holding up one of the offending gray stockings between the tips of her fingers, ”Did you--did any one ever see anything in all this world so hideous?”

”We can do away with their itchiness, but we shall never, never be able to hide their ugliness,” said Betty ruefully. ”_Nothing_ could do that.”