“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Fred, boldly; but he did not move a step nearer to the gate. “You are always so ’fraid of things!”
“Oh, go see what it is! I’m scared, scared!” wailed Milly, who scarcely recognized her own handiwork in the darkness, so strange it looked.
In the excitement they did not hear the car whistle nor the sound of footsteps on the gravel walk.
Just then a breeze sprang up, flaring the candle, which sent out a long tongue of flame from the pumpkin head’s mouth, and the white something behind began to wave. Like a flock of frightened birds the children, Fred, Amy, Janie and Milly, turned and ran as fast as they could, stumbling over each other in their flight.
A man’s figure darkened the doorway. “Hello!” said Uncle Ned. “What’s happened?”
“Oh, the pumpkin—there’s something there behind it—we thought we’d scare you!”
They were all talking together, so Uncle Ned did not understand at first.
“And you scared yourselves?” he said, at last. “Come, let us see what the ‘something white’ is,” and he went straight up to the garden fence and pulled down Aunt Mildred’s white crocheted shawl.
“Milly forgot to take it in, as I asked her,” remarked Aunt Mildred, “and it’s lucky you found it.”