“Would you have worked harder, Sim?” Ted inquired. “Here it is, Kathryn,” and he handed her a long, slim package tied with a blue ribbon. They all watched while Kathryn took the ribbon and tissue paper from what was so evidently a gift “of pencils. Two five centers, Kathryn,” said Ted. “May they bring you to fame.”
“You did well, Kathryn,” said Louise. “Somebody got fifty at a senior party the other day, but I’m not sure but we had more time.”
“Help me, Andy,” said Kathryn, “and let’s see how many we can get. Please give me all the papers, so we can compare.” Consequently, while Ted, accused of “licking his chops” over all the candy he was tasting, followed Louise out to the kitchen, and somebody started up the music again, Kathryn and Andy, helped by Betty, who gathered up all the other efforts, made a fairly full list. “I had just started on the s-h’s,” said Andy. A little later, after working as much out themselves as they felt like doing and comparing their papers, they announced that they could read what they had if any one wanted to hear.
“Let’s hear them, Andy,” called Chauncey from near the piano. “How many words can the experts make out of the old school name?”
“Leaving out abbreviations, plurals, and odd words, here they are: lying, lingo, lion, lo, log, loch, loo, loon, loin; yon, yo-ho; O, oh, on, oil, oily, only; no, nigh, noisy; high, ho, hog, hill, hilly, holy, his, hollo, holly; I, is, in, ill, illy, inch, inly; go, gill, gin; scion, shiny, shin, shy, si, sigh, sign, silo, silly, sill, sin, sing, sling, soil, solo, soon, song, son, sol, so; chic, chill, chilly, chin, cling, clog, cog, coil, coin, colon, con, colony, coo, cool, coolly, coon, cosy, coy–and we forgot lynch, shoo and shooing, and Andy says that colin is another word for quail and that shoon is in the dictionary. So that’s over eighty and pretty good, we think.”
Chauncey started a mild applause and remarked that Andy and Kathryn would probably teach English some day.
“Not on your life,” said Andy, “though I may run a paper at that!”
Mrs. Lee could not help wondering if every one would be careful not to drop his candy while it was in the process of being pulled, but she said nothing and provided plenty of greased receptacles. Ted and Louise started several other quiet games while the candy was getting to the proper temperature. Then they began to try a small portion.
“How many want to pull?” asked Ted. Every one wanted to try “just a little bit,” which was well, or the supply would not have been sufficient. Those who had never pulled candy before were instructed, that there should be no sticky or slippery masses clinging more unhappily than wet dough to the greased hands–after a great performance of hand-washing in the kitchen.
All this made much laughter and general merriment, not to mention certain antics of Ted and Harry and a few of the younger boys. But no one tried any “sticky” tricks, as Betty put it; for once upon a time, Dick had come home from a party with his hair full of taffy, horrible dictu!