By a judicious application of paint, and by gluing on colored tufts of wood for hair, the remaining heads can be transformed into craniums suitable for the other puppets.
The Ghost
The Ghost, however, may receive a little special treatment. One of the heads should be vividly painted in black and white to represent a skull. Then attach it to a wooden stick, decorated with a series of black rings, as shown in [Fig. 13].
The body consists of a long white gown similar to the other dresses, the only difference being that the head is left quite free in the collar. When the mysterious visitor makes his first appearance his head is right down upon his shoulders, as in [Fig. 14].
Directly Punch becomes too familiar, however, the showman can make the Ghost suddenly shoot out his long neck, thereby giving the old gentleman a bad attack of the “nerves.”
There remains one other piece of “stage furniture” to be constructed. This is the gallows—which plays such an important part in the exciting scene where Punch turns the tables on Jack Ketch.
Take a piece of wood six inches long, half an inch wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, and nail it at right angles to the extremity of another piece the same width and thickness, only eight inches long. A third strip of wood must then be nailed diagonally between the other two. The completed article will have the appearance of [Fig. 15].
The end of the longer arm must be whittled to a blunt point, and a hole bored in Punch’s platform to receive it. Two small holes should also be bored in the short arm. They must be about two and a half inches apart, and a piece of string knotted in the first, then looped down and threaded through the second, as shown in the diagram. It is into this loop that the wily Punch persuades Jack Ketch to place his head, when the old fellow gleefully gives a sharp pull to the other end and hangs him.
Fig. 14.—Ghost as seen at first appearance.