"The Ramseys!" whispered Laura, and Alene, who was watching the little ones, looked up in time to receive a gracious smile from Vera, who appeared not to see the other girls, although she was entering the seat directly in front of them.
On being seated Hermione looked around and seemed pleasantly surprised to see them. She nodded and smiled and holding her arm, leaned back to whisper,
"Don't mention taffy or my arm will start stirring again!"
Suddenly the lights went down in the main hall, to shine with redoubled brilliancy upon the stage.
"Look at the Jacks-in-the-boxes!" cried Nettie, as several heads were seen popping from under the stage.
"It's the band," explained Laura. Sure enough, it was the musicians who took a row of chairs in front of the curtain, and with a preliminary tuning up and a few toots of the clarinet, began a swinging march.
How hard it was for the little ones to keep their feet still, though they knew that was the proper thing to do! Claude, however, found his little legs swinging in time, being careful not to let them touch the floor, and Nettie's bright head and busy hands kept up a sort of lilting movement, both children requiring some outlet for all that pent-up exhilaration.
The music died gradually to the softest murmur, the curtain ascended slowly, a movement and flutter went through the hall, and the people settled themselves in their seats with their faces turned to the stage.
Up, up, the curtain soared toward the ceiling. Little Claude watched it with a fascinated glance, expecting it to go right through the roof but when it stopped just in time he gave a sigh of relief and directed his eyes toward the stage. Then his face lengthened—as far as such a chubby face could—for all that he saw in front of him was a huge round affair of some soft material, all decked with flowers.
"Great scissors!" he muttered, as he gazed upon it in amazement; then he noticed at the other side of the hall a portly gentleman who held a sort of wand with which he pointed toward the stage where something interesting was taking place but, alas, all that was visible to Claude was the topmost part which resembled a clouded sky.