Hallowe'en at Merryvale/VIII.
CHAPTER VIII
THE WONDERFUL PIE
Mother Brown now appeared in the doorway.
"Won't you come into the dining room?" she requested, and the boys lost
no time in accepting the invitation.
"That means something to eat," whispered Herbie. "Wonder what it'll be."
As the boys entered the dining room they started with surprise, for
there, hanging over the table, was the huge grinning face of a
jack-o-lantern.
"Well," exclaimed Fat, "what a sweet face!" which brought a round of
laughter from the others.
In the center of the table was a large paper pie and seven ribbons came
from under the crust, each of them having a card on the end. A plate of
paper snap-crackers of bright colors and the fancy yellow paper napkin
at each place gave the table a gay look.
"What a funny pie," laughed Hopie. "What's inside?"
"Each one find the card with his name on it. Then we'll all pull
together," directed Chuck, "and find out."
"Here's yours, Fat," called out Linn.
"You're over here, by me, Reddy," announced Toad.
"The fun's going to begin in a minute," cried Herbie. "Come on, Hopie,
here's yours."
"Everyone ready now," cried Toad as each one held on to his own ribbon.
"Now, one, two, three, pull," and, with a tearing of paper out came the
contents of the pie.
Huge wiggly spiders, toads that hopped about the table, mice that looked
real enough to frighten any girl, long striped paper snakes and giant
grasshoppers were on the ends of those ribbons.
The boys screamed with laughter as the queer-looking things hopped,
rolled and bumped about on the table.
"Look at what I've got," shrieked Hopie, holding an ugly looking spider
up to view.
"If that was real I'll bet you wouldn't be within ten feet of it," said
Fat.
"I'm going to scare our girl into fits with this mouse," laughed Herbie.
"She'll just take one look at it then hop up on a chair; and won't she
be mad when she finds out it isn't real?"
"Say, fellows, watch this frog jump," cried Fat, winding up a green and
yellow one made of tin.
"Bet mine can beat it," boasted Reddy. "Let's race them."
"Thought yours could hop further than my little Heinie, didn't you?"
teased Fat a minute later after his frog had won.
"Well, you wait until I get mine oiled up," warned Reddy, "and we'll try
it again."
When the boys pulled the snappers, the gay paper hats caused great
merriment, Fat having a baby cap with long strings which he tied under
his chin.
"Ah, here comes the ice cream!" exclaimed Herbie. "Look at the funny
figures it's in," he added, as a large platter, holding many odd little
shapes, was placed before Toad.
"Youngest first," announced Toad. "What do you choose, Hopie?"
"I'll take, let's see; guess I'll have a pumpkin," finally decided Hopie
and a yellow ice-cream pumpkin was placed before him.
"You're next, Reddy," said Chuck.
"Am not; Herbie's younger than I am," protested Reddy.
"I'll take the rabbit," laughed Herbie. "I like chocolate and vanilla
best."
Reddy now chose a pink and white wind mill, Chuck a pony.
"Don't I wish it was real," he said.
"Well, the turtle looks like it might taste pretty good," said Fat, and
then it was Linn's turn.
"It doesn't seem fair for you to be last, Toad, when you ought to have
come after Reddy," remarked Linn.
"Oh, well, it's my party, so I have to be last," was the answer.
"Well," agreed Linn, "if that's so I'll have the ship."
"Oh, good," cried Toad, "that leaves the engine for me and I wanted it
more than anything else."
"This turtle makes better ice cream than he would soup," grinned Fat as
he took another spoonfull.
"I'm eating my rabbit's ears first," chirped Herbie.
"Well, I'm eating the smoke from my engine, first," Toad chimed in.
"Here's the cake, you'll have to cut it, Toad," Linn informed him, "for
it's bad luck to let any one else cut a birthday cake for you."
It was covered with white icing and ablaze with candles.
"Now watch the candles go out," and Toad gave a great puff. "All over,"
he declared, laughing, "now I'll cut the cake."
"There is a piece of silver in it, Thomas," said his mother, "and the
one who gets it will be the lucky one in life, and a thimble for the one
who is going to be a bachelor."
At this the boys urged Toad to hurry and when the cake had been cut and
passed around each boy looked his piece over carefully.
"Hurrah, I've got the money," shouted Hopie, holding up a bright dime so
all could see.
"And I've got the thimble," wailed Chuck. "Now I'll have to sew on all
my own buttons."
"Hopie's lucky all right; he won the money in the flour, too," observed
Herbie.
It was now growing late so the boys, much against their will, found
their hats and bade good-night to Father and Mother Brown.
"We've had a fine time, Toad," said Fat, "hope you have another birthday
next year."
"I'm very sorry to have to do it," announced Linn, grasping Toad and
turning him over his knee, "but you must have nine spanks and one for
good luck."
"Why didn't we think of it before?" agreed the others, helping to hold
Toad until each one had his turn.
"Well, I ought to be good for a year, now," laughed Toad, after he
managed to get away. "Wait 'till it's your turn, Linn, won't I give you
some good ones?"
"Good-night," responded Linn, "we've had a dandy time."
"You bet we have," echoed all the others.
"Good-bye, good-bye," called Chuck and Toad, standing in the doorway as
the boys disappeared in the darkness.
THE END