"Fire ahead," came Roger's permission.
"It's just a variation of the strings of paper dolls that I used to make for Della when she was a year or two younger than she is now."
Della received this taunt with a puckered face.
"Fold strips of paper and then cut one figure of a little girl"
"You fold strips of white paper—or blue or yellow or any old color—in halves and then in halves again and then again, until it is about three inches wide. Then you cut one figure of a little girl, letting the tips of the hands and skirts remain uncut. When you unfold the strip you have a string of cutey little girls joining hands. See?"
They all laughed for all of them had cut just such figures when they were children.
"Now my application of this simple device," went on Tom in the solemn tones of a professor, "is to make them serve as lamp shades."
"For the orphans?" laughed Roger.
"For the orphans I'm going to cut about a bushel of strips of all colors. Children always like to play with them just so."