“How unfortunate,” interrupted Anna-Rose, her eyes on the palms and the sea and the exquisite distant mountains along the back of the bay, “to have to be dead on a day like this.”

“It’s not only his missing the fine weather that makes it unfortunate,” said Mr. Twist.

“You mean,” said Anna-Rose, “it’s our missing him.”

“Precisely,” said Mr. Twist.

“Well, we know that,” said Anna-Felicitas placidly.

“We knew it last night, and it worried us,” said Anna-Rose.  “Then we went to sleep and it didn’t worry us.  And this morning it still doesn’t.”

“No,” said Mr. Twist dryly.  “You don’t look particularly worried, I must say.”

“No,” said Anna-Felicitas, “we’re not.  People who find they’ve got to heaven aren’t usually worried, are they.”

“And having got to heaven,” said Anna-Rose, “we’ve thought of a plan to enable us to stay in it.”

“Oh have you,” said Mr. Twist, pricking up his ears.

“The plan seemed to think of us rather than we of it,” explained Anna-Felicitas.  “It came and inserted itself, as it were, into our minds while we were dressing.”

“Well, I’ve thought of a plan too,” said Mr. Twist firmly, feeling sure that the twins’ plan would be the sort that ought to be instantly nipped in the bud.

He was therefore greatly astonished when Anna-Rose said, “Have you?  Is it about schools?”

He stared at her in silence.  “Yes,” he then said slowly, for he was very much surprised.  “It is.”

“So is ours,” said Anna-Rose.

“Indeed,” said Mr. Twist.

“Yes,” said Anna-Felicitas.  “We don’t think much of it, but it will tide us over.”

“Exactly,” said Mr. Twist, still more astonished at this perfect harmony of ideas.

“Tide us over till Mrs. Dellogg is—–­” began Anna-Rose in her clear little voice that carried like a flute to all the tables round them.

Mr. Twist got up quickly.  “If you’ve finished let us go out of doors,” he said; for he perceived that silence had fallen on the other tables, and attentiveness to what Anna-Rose was going to say next.

“Yes.  On the sands,” said the twins, getting up too.

On the sands, however, Mr. Twist soon discovered that the harmony of ideas was not as complete as he had supposed; indeed, something very like heated argument began almost as soon as they were seated on some rocks round the corner of the shore to the west of the hotel and they became aware, through conversation, of the vital difference in the two plans.

The Twinkler plan, which they expounded at much length and with a profusion of optimistic detail, was to search for and find a school in the neighbourhood for the daughters of gentlemen, and go to it for three months, or six months, or whatever time Mrs. Dellogg wanted to recover in.