“What will work?” demanded Margy, eagerly. “What will work, Fred?”
“Well, I’ll step into the first half of the giraffe,” explained Fred, “and Artie can manage the back feet—Ward will get out of breath too quickly to do what I want done. When the bell rings, we’ll go out the back door and amble around to the front of the house and just wrap Mr. Ghost lovingly around with that nice, long, rubber-hose neck. That ought to give our friends a thrill. They won’t know what has them in the dark.”
“Oh, yes,” approved Polly. “I think that’s a fine plan. Hurry, Ward, and let Fred get into your half; the bell may ring any minute.”
Ward would have liked to have guided the giraffe’s neck himself, but he knew as well as Fred that excitement took his breath away as quickly as running. Fred had the longer arms, too, and would be able to give a longer reach to the animal’s long neck.
Fred had hardly slipped into the flannel casing and drawn it tightly about him and Artie was practicing his best giraffe step, when the bell over the door leading into the front hall rang sharply. Every one jumped, though it was a noise they were expecting.
“Stay right where you are,” Fred directed. “If Joe sees you through the curtains or the glass door, he’ll be suspicious. Come on, Artie, we’ll have to hurry.”
He and Artie loped down the back steps and sped around the side of the house. A cautious look showed Fred a towering ghost standing on the front steps, waiting patiently. Tiptoeing, he and Artie stole up to it and before the ghost knew what was happening, a long slim, tight coil was fastened about it.
“Ow! Help! Take it away!” shrieked Joe Anderson’s voice. “Quick, Albert, take it off! Help! Something’s got me!”
Albert was sitting on Joe’s shoulders, and in his terror and excitement he began to kick wildly, hammering the unfortunate Joe on the face and shoulders unmercifully. Fred couldn’t unwind the length of hose—though he tried—because the end was pinioned under one of Albert’s arms, and the more the two boys who formed the ghost struggled, the tighter the coils seemed to grow.
“Help! help!” called Joe, beside himself with fear.