ile.

"Oh, yes, Lark," suggested Carol finally, "don't you remember she said
the Bible was an allegory?"

"What?"

"Yes, she did. She was explaining to the English class what was meant
by allegory, and she said the purpose of using allegory was to teach an
important truth in a homely impressive way that could be remembered.
She mentioned several prominent allegories, and said the Bible was one.
And you know yourself Prue, that the Bible is Gospel truth, and--I
mean, it is so! I mean----"

"What she means," said Lark helpfully, "is that the Bible is not just a
pretty way of teaching people to be good, but it's solid fact clear
through."

"That's very well expressed, Lark,"--Prudence herself could not have
expressed it half so well! "But how do you twins understand all these
things so thoroughly?"

"Oh, you know Mrs. Sears is our Sunday-school teacher, and she's always
hot on the trail of the higher critics and heretics. She explained all
about the--the nefarious system to us one Sunday. She says the higher
critics try to explain away the Bible by calling it allegory. So we
were ready for Miss Allen there. And whenever anything came up at
school, we would ask Mrs. Sears about it on Sunday,--without mentioning
names of course. She's very much gratified that we are so much
interested in such things. She thinks we're sure to be deaconesses, at
the very least. But Carol said she wouldn't be a deaconess,--she was
going to be a Red Cross nurse and go to war. That stumped Mrs. Sears
for a while, and then she said we could be Red Cross Deaconess nurses."

"I won't," said Carol, "because the deaconess uniforms aren't as
stylish as the Red Cross nurses'. I think I'll look pretty fine in a
white uniform with a stiff little cap and a red cross on my arm. Red
crosses make a very pretty decoration, don't you think they do, Lark?"

"What else did Miss Allen say at school?" Prudence demanded, leading
the twins back to the subject.

"Well, one day she said,--you know she gives uplifting little moral
talks quite often, Prue. Sometimes she tells us stories with inspiring
points. She's really a moral person, I believe."

"And I'm honestly sorry she's a heretic," said Carol, "for I do want to
be friendly enough with her to ask if she uses anything on her
complexion to keep it so rose-leafy. If she does, I'll have some of
it, if it takes all my next year's clothes!"

Lark laughed. "A rose-leaf complexion will be