Madget and Mabel were accordingly fitted to brown shoes and socks and Moses to black sneakers and long, black ribbed stockings. Nothing that could be said to him, even the argument of the financial inconvenience of covering his long legs, would induce him to put on socks like those of his sisters. It was stockings or nothing with Moses, though he was perfectly willing to do without them entirely.
"One dollar and eight cents. Could we buy this little boy any kind of trousers or bloomers for that, do you suppose? You wouldn't mind taking a stamp to make up the difference, would you?" Peggy asked, anxiously.
"Not in the least. We have some khaki bloomers that might fit him for seventy-five cents."
"I ain't agoing to wear bloomers," Moses said, decisively. "I want pants or nothing."
"Nothing is what you've got on now," Peggy said, severely, "or very near nothing. You can't go to that bean supper in rags, you know. Don't you want to have some cake and ice-cream, and corned beef——"
"And potato salud," Mabel put in, helpfully, "and beans——"
"And ice-cream and cake and potato salud," Madget droned, "and coffee and ice-cream and cake——"
"You said that before," Moses said. "Don't you ever get tired of hearing things over and over?"
"We can get a Butterick pattern and make him a shirt," Peggy suggested.
"We can get Grandmother to give us some cambric and things to make the little girls dresses. See here, Moses, you've just got to have a pair of those bloomers. All boys wear them. You can't go to the supper if you don't—— Do you mind measuring him?"