What a shout went up! For the box was filled with potatoes—plain white and sweet! There were about a quart of them, mixed.
"Oh, what a sell!" murmured Spud. "I knew you'd do something like this!" he added, grinning sheepishly.
"Better pass 'em around," suggested Tom.
"All right, have one raw!" returned Spud.
"Hi! ton't gif dem avay so kvick!" cried Max, getting excited and talking more brokenly than usual. "Besser examine dem first."
"Examine 'em?" murmured Spud. "Oh, I see!" he added, and took up one of the potatoes. "Why, it isn't a potato at all!" he exclaimed as the article came apart. "It's only a shell, and it's filled with candy!"
"Chocolate drops!" murmured Sam. "Yum! yum!"
"There are salted almonds in this one," went on Spud, opening an imitation of a sweet potato. "And here are stuffed dates, and this had raisins in it—and here are soft gum drops! Say, Max, this is certainly great! How did you happen to think of it?" And Spud looked tremendously pleased.
"Oh, I know you lof potatoes," answered the German-American youth, innocently.
The candy was placed on one of the wooden plates, and the almonds and raisins on another, and then the good things were passed around.