"The old boxes they cut down. That saves buying new pasteboard. And they've covered some of the battered looking old ones with fresh paper so they look as good as new—"
"And a great deal prettier," said Dorothy.
"We get wall paper at ten cents a roll for the covering," said Ethel Blue. "They have an old-fashioned air that's attractive, Aunt Marion says," and she held up a box covered with wild roses.
"They're lovely! And they must have cost you almost nothing."
"We did these when our treasury was very low. Now we've got almost fifty dollars that we cleared from our entertainment after we paid all our bills and repaid Mother what we owed her," explained Ethel Brown, "so now the boys can get some fresh cardboard and some chintz and cretonne and make some real beauties."
"Is this what James has been doing on Saturdays?"
"James is the best paster of all, he's so careful. He always makes his corners as neat as pins. Sometimes the other boys are careless."
"Then I don't see why James couldn't do some of this at home now. He has altogether too much time on his hands."
"Can't he study yet?"
"He learns his lessons but his father doesn't want him to go to school for at least a fortnight and perhaps not then, so he has long hours with nothing to do except read and it isn't good for him to do that all the time."