“They aren’t so terribly hard to make,” the Winnebagos assured them modestly, but at the same time glowing with a feeling of superiority. The San-Clu girls were plainly older than the Winnebagos; they all wore dresses down to their ankles and seemed quite grown up, almost enough to be guardians themselves; yet they did not appear to have won nearly so many honors as the younger Winnebagos.
During the tour of inspection Nyoda and Gladys held a whispered consultation in one end of the room. “Nothing here to make a spread with,” said Gladys. “I’ll have to hurry out and get something.”
“Do,” said Nyoda. Gladys nudged Hinpoha and drew her down the ladder and together they sped after canned shrimp and condensed milk.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us a minute,” said Nyoda to the San-Clus, “we’ll retire behind our curtains and prepare to do the stunt with which we always inflict company. Come, girls,” she added in a whisper, “the Battle of Blenheim.” And the players retired to array themselves in the necessary sheets.
Five minutes later the curtains were shoved aside, and the players stood before the audience. They looked in bewilderment. For seated where they had left the San-Clu Camp Fire Girls were the Captain, Bottomless Pitt, the Monkey, Dan Porter, Peter Jenkins and Harry Raymond. The girls had vanished.
“Why, when did you come in, boys?” asked Nyoda in surprise. “And where are the girls?”
“What girls?” asked the Captain.
“Why, the San-Clu Camp Fire girls,” said Nyoda, “who were visiting us.”
“Here they are,” said the six boys, rising and speaking together. “We are the ‘San-Clu’ Camp Fire Girls. ‘San-Clu’—short for Sandwich Club! Ho-ho-ho, Katherine! You’d know us in a minute with girls’ clothes on, would you!” And from under the rugs and furniture they drew the dresses, hats, gloves and wigs which the late San-Clus had worn a-calling. “Oh-h-h, Katherine, we do this to each other!”
The girls sat staring, speechless for a minute, unable to believe that there really had been no girls there. But the evidence was before their eyes and it could not be doubted. And they were far too game not to see that the joke was on them, and laughed just as heartily over it as the boys did.