“Now, look here, Eileen; you’ll have to decide,” said Mollie, firmly. “Let’s fix it up now.”
So, after a great deal of talk, she decided on “Gipsy Queen.”
Then there was work getting their dresses ready. Mollie was “Night,” and the soft black dress, with the half-moon and stars cut out of silver paper, suited her splendidly. Across her red-gold hair she had a black velvet band, with a quaint little half-moon slanting across it.
The “Gipsy Queen” looked fine in her red dress, with slashes of gold paper and touches of black velvet, and coins and berries placed cunningly here and there. In the make-ups everyone helped, and the tags off tobacco were even pressed into service. Even old Joe would sit at the kitchen table after tea and cut out hundreds of stars and other shapes out of silver and gold paper; and many the argument he and Willie had over correct sizes, etc., and how many stars were in the sky, and thousands of other things; and, of course, the arguments were never decided, because they were both sure that they were right, and left it at that.
Eva was “Flower Girl,” and had a pretty white muslin frock, decked with flowers, and carried a wand (made by Old Joe) wreathed with flowers. Doris was “Winter,” and looked radiant in her red dress, bordered with wadding for fur, and a little white wadding cap trimmed with red berries. Baby was “Red Riding Hood,” and fancied herself in her little blue frock and white pinafore and red cape and hood; only when she had been at the party a while she grew tired of the cape and hood, and threw it off, and was just plain Baby in her little blue frock for the rest of the evening. At the last Willie had decided to go as a “Scout,” and his mother had to hurriedly post him a suit from Sydney; and Mollie fixed up one of Frank’s felt hats for him, and he was very pleased with his “rig out,” as he called it.
Two days before the party a letter came from Frank to say that he was coming home for a short holiday. “Just a week or ten days,” he wrote, “and I am looking forward to it. What a lot we will have to talk about! Tell Doris and Baby I’ll expect them to give me a picnic under the old picnic tree.”
They were all silent for a while, overjoyed at the great news, and then their tongues were loosened, and a babel of voices filled the air.
“Well, if it’s not the very best thing that could happen,” cried Eileen. “I’ve been wishing that Frank could be here to see us in our fancy dresses, and now he’ll be here. Hooray!”
“Oh, dear, dear! whatever’ll he go as?” cried Doris. “I wish he’d be old Father Christmas.”
“Father Christmas, indeed!” cried Eileen. “I fancy I see him!”