"Here's one very simple way. You know those fasteners that stationers sell to keep papers together? They have a brass head and two legs and when you've pushed the legs through the papers you press them apart and they can't pull out. One of those will do very well as a knob to go on the box part, and a loop of gold or silver cord or of ribbon can be pasted or tied on to the cover."
"If you didn't care whether it was ever used again you could put in the ball of twine with its end sticking through and then paste a band of paper around the joining of the top and the box. It would be pretty as long as the twine lasted."
"It would be a simple matter for the person who became its proud possessor to paste on another strip of paper when he had put in his new ball of twine."
"Any way you fix it," went on Helen, "there you have the general method of making round boxes from these mailing tubes."
"And you can use round boxes for a dozen purposes," said Margaret; "for candy and all the goodies we're going to send the orphans."
"Are you sure they'll keep?" asked careful James.
"Ethel Brown asked the domestic science teacher at school about that, and she's going to give her receipts for cookies and candies that will last at least six weeks. That will be long enough for the Christmas Ship to go over and to make the rounds of the ports where it is to distribute presents."
"Of course we'll make the eatables at the last minute," said Dorothy, "and we'll pack them so as to keep the air out as much as possible."
"Give that flour paste a good boiling," Helen called after Margaret as she left the room to prepare it.
"And don't forget the oil of cloves to keep it sweet," added Ethel Blue.