“Smart girl! Now let’s put our thinking caps on. I have seen plenty of Hallowe’en parties, but I never had to get up anything like this, and it seems scarcely fair to expect me to be chairman here, the first year that I am in the school.”
“I can tell you what they have had lately,” said Caroline. “You just go along and be chairman and we’ll help. But remember that each class is supposed to think up its own particular stunt, so we aren’t so responsible as you would suppose. Only it makes it worse about helping them if they are too late deciding what they’ll do. Madam Chairman, I move that we go ahead first on decorations for the parlors and halls, and meanwhile think up what else we can.”
“There are limitations, too,” said Betty. “Hallowe’en has certain emblems. Caroline, you write and ask your folks what they can get in the way of pumpkin lanterns and other suitable Hallowe’en things for decoration; and we ought to have some black, and red, and white paper to cut cats and things out of, and perhaps some draperies, cheesecloth, I suppose, in the same colors. We have some money from the classes for this, Shirley, if we need it.”
“It is a relief to hear that, Betty. Caroline, will you send for those things?”
“Yes. I’ll telegraph and they’ll be sent right out from Chicago. What with our costumes, we won’t have much time for cutting out ‘cats and things,’ Betty.”
“Luckily I have my costume,” said Shirley, “and if it will give you any ideas for anything that we could get up, I’ll show it to you. My aunt helped Mother make it for something that we had at home. It’s hanging now in my closet to get the wrinkles out. I’ll have to press it, too, perhaps.”
The girls trooped to Shirley’s room for the inspiration which looking at a real costume might give them. Madge was there and admitted to their councils, while Shirley brought out her costume for inspection.
“Now that is a real one and different. Who painted that cat’s head is an artist!”
“It was Auntie that did that,” laughed Shirley, “but I can copy it for anybody that wants one.”
“We’ll keep you painting, then,” said Pansy. “I’ll perish if I can’t be a witch or a cat.”